US President Donald Trump on Monday announced that any country continuing business with Iran would face a 25 percent tariff on all trade with the United States, a move that could impact Tehran’s major trading partners such as India, China and the UAE.
“Effective immediately, any Country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff of 25 per cent on any and all business being done with the United States of America. This Order is final and conclusive,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social Monday.
The announcement comes as Iran witnesses one of its most intense periods of unrest in years. More than 600 protests have erupted across all 31 provinces, with activists reporting hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests. The growing violence has pushed Washington to consider tougher economic and even military responses.
Iran’s principal trade partners include China, Turkey, India, the UAE, Pakistan and Armenia. The announcement could also have implications for India, which has figured among Iran’s five largest trading partners in recent years.
With Washington already imposing tariffs of up to 50 per cent on certain Indian goods over New Delhi’s Russian oil purchases, the proposed Iran-linked tariffs could further strain India’s export sector and complicate ongoing India-US trade negotiations.
According to the Indian Embassy in Tehran, major Indian exports to Iran include rice, tea, sugar, pharmaceuticals, manmade staple fibres, electrical machinery and artificial jewellery, while major Indian imports from Iran consist of dry fruits, inorganic/organic chemicals and, glassware.
Although China remains Iran’s largest trading partner, countries such as India, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey also maintain significant trade ties with Tehran.
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India and Iran share decades-old commercial and diplomatic relations, especially in food, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. In 2024–25, India’s exports to Iran stood at US$1.24 billion, while imports were valued at US$0.44 billion, bringing total bilateral trade to US$1.68 billion.
