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France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Trump hikes India levy over Russian oil as tariff deadline approaches
Trump's additional 25-percent tariff on Indian goods, set to come into place in three weeks, stacks atop a separate 25-percent duty entering into force Thursday. This takes the level to 50 percent for many products. Trump's order also threatens potential penalties on other countries for "directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil," a key source of revenue for Moscow's war in Ukraine. But exemptions remain for goods targeted under sector-specific duties such as steel and aluminum, and categories that could be hit later, like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. Smartphones are also among this list of exempted products for now, notably shielding Apple from a major hit as the US tech titan shifts production from China to India. India's foreign ministry condemned Trump's tariff announcement Wednesday, calling the move "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable." The ministry had previously said that India began importing from Russia as traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict. It noted that Washington at that time had "actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening global energy market stability." But Trump recently ramped up pressure on India over its purchases of Russian oil, threatening new tariffs as part of a campaign to force Moscow into ending its devastating invasion of Ukraine. India's national security adviser was in Moscow on Wednesday, media in New Delhi reported, coinciding with a visit by US envoy Steve Witkoff. The latest 25-percent additional tariff is notably lower than a 100-percent level Trump floated last month when he told Russia to end its war in Ukraine within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions. The Republican said at the time that these would be "secondary tariffs" targeting Russia's remaining trade partners, seeking to impede Moscow's ability to survive already sweeping Western sanctions. Tariff turmoil Trump's latest salvo targeting India came after he separately took aim at Brazil over the trial of his right-wing ally, former president Jair Bolsonaro -- who is accused of planning a coup. On Wednesday, US tariffs on various Brazilian goods surged from 10 percent to 50 percent, although broad exemptions including for orange juice and civil aircraft are expected to soften the blow. Come Thursday, a new wave of tariffs on imports from dozens of other economies, ranging from the European Union to Taiwan, is set to kick in. These updated "reciprocal" tariffs, meant to address trade practices Washington deems unfair, go as high as 41 percent for countries like Syria. Other major US trading partners face varying increases from a current 10-percent level, starting at 15 percent for economies like the EU, Japan and South Korea. Countries not targeted by these "reciprocal" tariff hikes continue facing a 10-percent US levy Trump imposed in April. Trump's plans have sparked a rush to avert the steeper duties, with Switzerland's President Karin Keller-Sutter hurrying to Washington this week ahead of the Thursday deadline. Though she secured a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, it was unclear if she would meet Trump or any top economic officials. Her Alpine country faces a 39-percent duty on many of its exports, and while its key pharmaceutical sector has been spared for now, Trump has said a potential separate tariff could eventually rise to 250 percent. Some of Trump's sweeping tariffs face legal challenges over his use of emergency economic powers, with the cases likely to ultimately reach the Supreme Court. © 2025 AFP
France 24
6 hours ago
- France 24
Trump slaps additional 25% tariff on Indian goods amid Russia oil dispute
Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to place an additional 25 percent tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50 percent. The tariffs would go into effect 21 days after the signing of the order, meaning that both India and Russia might have time to negotiate with the administration on the import taxes. Trump's moves could scramble the economic trajectory of India, which until recently was seen as an alternative to China by American companies looking to relocate their manufacturing. China also buys oil from Russia, but it was not included in the order signed by the Republican president. As part of a negotiating period with Beijing, Trump has placed 30 percent tariffs on goods from China, a rate that is smaller than the combined import taxes with which he has threatened New Delhi. Trump had previewed for reporters on Tuesday that the tariffs would be coming, saying the US had a meeting with Russia on Wednesday as the Trump administration tries to end the war in Ukraine. 'We're going to see what happens," Trump said about his tariff plans. "We'll make that determination at that time.' The Indian government on Wednesday called the additional tariffs 'unfortunate". 'We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement, adding that India would take all actions necessary to protect its interests. Jaiswal said India has already made its stand clear that the country's imports were based on market factors and were part of an overall objective of ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people. Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official, said the latest tariff places the country among the most heavily taxed US trading partners and far above rivals such as China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. 'The tariffs are expected to make Indian goods far costlier with the potential to cut exports by around 40-50 percent to the US,' he said. Srivastava said Trump's decision was 'hypocritical' because China bought more Russian oil than India did last year. 'Washington avoids targeting Beijing because of China's leverage over critical minerals which are vital for US defense and technology,' he said. In 2024, the US ran a $45.8 billion trade deficit in goods with India, meaning America imported more from India than it exported, according to the US Census Bureau. American consumers and businesses buy pharmaceutical drugs, precious stones and textiles and apparel from India, among other goods. At the world's largest country, India represented a way for the US to counter China's influence in Asia. But India has not supported the Ukraine-related sanctions by the US and its allies on Moscow even as India's leaders have maintained that they want peace. The US and China are currently in negotiations on trade, with Washington imposing a 30 percent tariff on Chinese goods and facing a 10 percent retaliatory tax from Beijing on American products. The planned tariffs on India contradict past efforts by the Biden administration and other nations in the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations that encouraged India to buy cheap Russian oil through a price cap imposed in 2022. The nations collectively capped Russian oil a $60 per barrel at a time when prices in the market were meaningfully higher, The intent was to deprive the Kremlin of revenue to fund its war in Ukraine, forcing the Russian government either to sell its oil at a discount or divert money for a costly alternative shipping network. The price cap was rolled out to equal parts skepticism and hopefulness that the policy would stave off Russian President Vladimir Putin 's invasion of Ukraine. The cap has required shipping and insurance companies to refuse to handle oil shipments above the cap, though Russia has been able to evade the cap by shipping oil on a 'shadow fleet' of old vessels using insurers and trading companies located in countries that are not enforcing sanctions. But oil prices have fallen with a barrel trading on Wednesday morning at $65.84, up 1 percent on the day.
France 24
7 hours ago
- France 24
Swiss president to meet Rubio as surprise tariff hike looms
The Alpine country faces a 39-percent duty on many of its exports to the United States come Thursday, one of the highest levels among dozens of economies due to be hit by President Donald Trump's upcoming tranche of tariffs. President Karin Keller-Sutter and Economy Minister Guy Parmelin hurried to Washington "to facilitate meetings with the US authorities at short notice and hold talks with a view to improving the tariff situation," the Swiss government said in a statement. On Wednesday morning, Keller-Sutter and Parmelin arrived at the State Department in Washington for their scheduled talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The White House previously told AFP that there was, for now, no meeting planned with Trump -- who threatened in April to slap a 31-percent tariff on Swiss goods. It remains unclear if the Swiss delegation will meet with top US economic officials during their trip. Trump surprised the country last week when Washington released an updated list of tariff levels for dozens of US trading partners, due to take effect Thursday, showing the Swiss duty would be raised to 39 percent. This is significantly higher than the 15-percent level faced by economies like the European Union, Japan and South Korea. On Tuesday, Trump told CNBC in an interview that he "did something with Switzerland the other day" and spoke to Keller-Sutter. "The woman was nice, but she didn't want to listen," he added. The wave of US tariffs taking effect Thursday do not cover sectors that are being separately targeted by US investigations such as pharmaceuticals, a key sector for Switzerland. But Trump signaled that fresh duties on pharmaceutical imports could be announced within the week, starting at a low level before potentially surging as high as 250 percent.
