Trump imposes 25% tariff on countries doing business with Iran:Will it impact India as New Delhi among 5 largest trading partners with Tehran

US President Donald Trump said that he has imposed a 25% tariff on goods from countries that do business with Iran. Trump announced on social media that the tariff would take effect immediately. Trump did not define what qualifies as “doing business” with Iran. The post raised a number of questions, including how these additional tariffs could work, which countries would be targeted and whether services and not just goods would face higher duties. Also Read | US sanctions 6 Indian firms over Iran oil trade The White House has not yet provided more details about how the tariff will be applied or which countries will be most affected. The decision comes after Trump warned that the US could take military action if Iran continued to kill protesters. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that military options, including air strikes, are still being considered. China is Iran’s largest trading partner, followed by Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and India. India has been among Iran’s five largest trade partners in recent years. Will it impact India? Iran has been an important trade partner for India. Now, with Trump imposing tariffs on countries doing business with Iran, India is likely to be affected significantly. The new 25% tariff comes on top of the US’ existing 25% tariff on India and an additional 25% tariff imposed because India continued buying Russian oil. Together, this could mean a total of 75% tariffs on certain goods. India-Iran trade India’s main exports to Iran include basmati rice, tea, sugar, fresh fruits, medicines, soft drinks (excluding sharbat), pulses, and boneless meat. India’s main imports from Iran include methanol, petroleum bitumen, apples, liquified propane, dry dates, chemicals, and almonds. In 2022-23, India-Iran trade was $2.33 billion, growing 21.76% compared to the previous year. Of this, India exported $1.66 billion (up 14.34%) and imported $672.12 million (up 45.05%). From April to July 2023, bilateral trade was $660.70 million, with India exporting $455.64 million and importing $205.14 million. This was a 23.32% drop compared to the same period the previous year. One key project is the Chabahar Port, which India and Iran agreed to develop in 2015. India still supports the project, which is important for moving commercial and humanitarian goods in the region. Recently, Trump also imposed 50% duties on India’s exports to the US due to India’s Russian oil imports and high trade barriers for American goods. This is the highest rate in Asia and has hurt US-India relations, which had been improving for years. How this could hit China trade? The new US tariff may raise the cost of Chinese goods to at least 45%, up from the current 20%. In the first 11 months of 2025, China exported $6.2 billion worth of goods to Iran and imported $2.85 billion, according to Chinese customs. This does not include oil, which China buys from Iran through intermediaries. Last year, a US-China trade war shook global markets, with Trump raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 145%. The current 20% rate was set after long negotiations.