U.S. President Donald Trump announced new tariffs targeting nations maintaining commercial ties with Iran. “Effective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a tariff of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America. This order is final and conclusive,” Trump said. It is expected to hit China and India the hardest, given their significant energy and commercial ties with Tehran. China is Iran’s largest trading partner, accounting for roughly 30% of the country’s total foreign trade and 90% of shipped oil exports. Russia and India follow at a distance. However, according to China Customs reports from late December 2025, official trade between China and Iran plunged by 24% in the first 11 months of last year. Last year, Trump imposed 25% “reciprocal” tariffs on India, along with an additional 25% penalty for New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian crude oil.
Despite an agreement between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, to roll back some trade barriers, the average U.S. tariff on Chinese imports has remained at 47.5%, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington-based think tank. Trump is expected to rely on executive authority to impose the new tariffs without seeking congressional approval. Last year, he levied additional duties on all U.S. trading partners under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). That approach is now facing a legal test, with an active challenge questioning whether a President can invoke “national emergency” powers to impose permanent tariffs. An adverse decision could require Washington to refund billions of dollars in collected duties, but for now, the Administration is pressing ahead. Trump has explicitly linked the latest tariffs to Iran’s crackdown on anti-government protests and near-total internet blackout, the South China Morning Post reports.
