Additional 25% Tariffs on Indian Imports Announced

Tweet

Aug. 6, 2025
By: Austin J. Eighan

    On August 6, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) imposing an additional 25% tariff on goods from India. The EO draws upon President Trump’s authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to target India’s continued direct and indirect importation of oil from the Russian Federation.

    The action stems from the ongoing national emergency first declared in EO 14024 and expanded in EO 14066, which declared that the Russian Federation’s military actions in Ukraine pose “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States” and consequently banned the importation of Russian-origin crude oil, petroleum, and related products into the United States. Based on updated intelligence from senior Administration officials, the latest EO reaffirms that the Russian Federation’s actions continue to sustain that threat.

    The EO finds that India is currently importing Russian Federation oil, which includes “crude oil or petroleum products extracted, refined, or exported from the Russian Federation.” India allegedly imports the oil either directly or indirectly through intermediaries or third countries where the origin of the oil can reasonably be traced to Russia, as determined by the Secretary of Commerce. To “deal with” India’s role in this trade, President Trump scheduled the additional 25% tariffs to take effect on August 27.

The tariffs will apply in addition to all other duties, taxes, and charges—including the “reciprocal” 25% tariffs for India (read more here) set to begin on August 7. However, the EO provides key exemptions:

• Articles subject to existing or future actions under Section 232;
• Articles listed in Annex II of EO 14257, as amended; and
• Articles loaded onto a vessel (i.e., not air, rail or truck) and in transit to the United States on or before August 27 and entered for consumption (or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption) before September 17, 2025.

    The EO preserves the President’s broad authority to modify the action in response to new information or foreign retaliation. For example, it empowers the Secretaries of Commerce, Treasury, and State to collectively “determine whether any other country is directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.” Based on their findings, the President will determine “whether and to what extent [he] should take action as to that country, including whether [he] should impose an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 percent on imports.”

    If your company would like to review the impact of the additional tariffs on your goods or analyze alternative sourcing options, please reach out to one of our attorneys at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn.