E-Paper
Trump signs executive order announcing removal of 25% penalty tariff on India for buying Russian oil
Trump signs executive order announcing removal of 25% penalty tariff on India for buying Russian oil
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday (local time) that eliminates the 25% tariff penalty imposed on India in August for purchasing Russian energy. This comes just days after Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that New Delhi and Washington had agreed on a trade deal that would see tariffs on India reduced from 50% to 18%. The tariffs will cease to apply to goods exported from India starting at 12:01 AM Eastern Standard Time on February 7.
In the executive order, Trump repeated his claim that India would stop purchasing Russian oil and increase energy purchases from India.
Also read: White House releases India-US joint statement for ‘interim’ trade agreement
“Specifically, India has committed to stop directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil, has represented that it will purchase United States energy products from the United States, and has recently committed to a framework with the United States to expand defense cooperation over the next 10 years,” the executive order reads. The order adds that India had taken "significant steps” to address US concerns on Russian oil purchases and to “align sufficiently with the United States on national security, foreign policy and economic matters”.
India has not confirmed Trump’s claim that it will cease purchases of Russian energy. New Delhi has defended its purchases of oil from Russia by arguing that its decisions are guided by its national interest and the need to ensure energy security for India’s vast population.
Also read: India-US interim trade deal in 12 points: What does White House's joint statement say?
However, Trump’s executive order also puts into place a monitoring mechanism that will seek to confirm if New Delhi has ceased energy purchases from Russia. US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, in coordination with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, have been tasked with this.
“If the Secretary of Commerce finds that India has resumed directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the United States Trade Representative, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and the Assistant to the President and Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, shall recommend whether and to what extent I should take additional action as to India, including whether I should reimpose the additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 percent on imports of articles of India,” the executive order outlines.
Trump’s removal of the 25% tariff penalty on India came on the same day that Washington released a joint statement outlining a framework for an interim trade agreement between New Delhi and Washington.
