US President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order rescinding the 25% additional ‘penalty’ tariff that he had imposed on Indian imports for the Indian government’s continuing purchasing of discounted Russian oil.
The Trump administration has stated that the tariff slashing is the result of India’s reduced purchasing of Russian oil over the months and assurance that it won’t purchase Russian oil and instead would buy more oil from the USA.
The additional 25% tariff on Indian imports was imposed by the Trump administration in August 2025. The tariff will cease to apply to Indian goods exported into the USA on 7 February 12.01 am Eastern Standard Time.
#BREAKING: Trump signs Executive Order removing 25% tariff penalty on #India for buying Russian energy.
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) February 6, 2026
“India has committed to stop directly or indirectly importing Russian oil, has represented that it will purchase energy from the US..I have determined that India has taken… pic.twitter.com/Ece4ipjFqM
“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 defence cooperation over the next 10 years,” the EO by Trump reads. Additionally, it adds that India will take significant steps to address US concerns on Russian oil purchase and will align sufficiently with the USA on national security, foreign policy and economic matters.
The EO also mention that the US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Tresury Secretary Scott Bessent will put in place a ‘monitoring mechanism’ that will see if India is further buying any Russian oil.
The Executive Order has come on the same day India and USA released an interim trade deal framework where the USA has already reduced reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from previous high rates, and at significantly lower than other major economies in Asia.
In the same framework, India has committed to greater market access and increased purchases of American products, including energy.
The agreement strengthens economic ties between the world’s largest democracies, boosting bilateral trade and signaling deeper strategic alignment.
