Trump Hits India With 25% Additional Tariff Over Russian Oil – Warns Retaliation Will Trigger Further Action

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order implementing an additional 25% tariff rate on India due to its purchase of Russian oil. 

“I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil,” the document said. It also added that if a foreign country retaliated against the U.S. in response to this action, Trump would “modify this order to ensure the efficacy of the action herein ordered.”

The executive order comes after Trump said, in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, that the U.S. would “substantially” increase tariffs on India within 24 hours. 

“Accordingly, and as consistent with applicable law, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 percent,” the order said. 

It is unclear whether this 25% tariff hike is the only penalty India will face, or if it will stack on top of the 25% tariff hike that Trump said would go into effect overnight. If the latter holds true, the total tariffs on India would amount to 50%. However, this additional penalty will kick in after 21 days.

India responded to the 25% tariff by stating that its oil imports are necessary to ensure the energy security of its 1.4 billion population. “It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest.” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

“We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,” it added. “India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests.”

India and the U.S. currently do not have a trade deal in place. Trump has accused the Asian country of not easing access for U.S. exports and criticized its BRICS membership.

Meanwhile, the U.S. markets were mixed during morning trade. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was up 0.2%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) fell 0.06%. The Invesco QQQ Series 1 Trust (QQQ), which tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, was up 0.38%. On StockTwits, retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF remained in ‘neutral’ territory. 

Read also: Apollo Targets Data Center Growth With Stream Acquisition Deal: Report

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.