Washington/New Delhi, Aug 6 (PTI) Escalating his tariff offensive against India, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday slapped an additional 25 per cent duty--doubling it to 50 per cent--on Indian goods over New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil.

The move that is likely to hit sectors such as textiles, marine and leather exports hard was slammed by India as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable". With this action singling out New Delhi for the Russian oil imports, India will attract the highest US tariff of 50 per cent along with Brazil.

The United States has imposed this additional tariff or penalty for Russian imports only on India while other buyers such as China and Turkey have so far escaped such harsh measures. The 30 per cent tariff on China and 15 per cent on Turkey is lower than India's 50 per cent.

"It is extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India," the external affairs ministry said in a statement in Delhi, adding that India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests.

Trump signed an executive order - Addressing Threats to the US by the Government of the Russian Federation - imposing the additional tariff over and above the 25 per cent levy. It came a day after the president said he will "substantially" raise tariffs on goods from India over Russian oil imports.

After this order that has put further strain on ties between the two strategic partners over New Delhi's energy ties with Moscow less than seven months after Trump assumed office for a second term, the total tariff on Indian goods, barring a small exemption list, will be 50 per cent.

"The ad valorem duty imposed...shall be in addition to any other duties, fees, taxes, exactions, and charges applicable to such imports...," the order said.

While the initial 25 per cent duty becomes effective on August 7, the additional levy will come into effect after 21 days or August 27.

"I find that the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil. Accordingly, and as consistent with applicable law, articles of India imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 25 percent," the order said. Russia is now India's largest oil supplier.

On August 1, Trump signed an Executive Order titled 'Further Modifying The Reciprocal Tariff Rates', raising tariffs for over five dozen countries, including a steep 25 per cent for India.

This executive order, however, did not mention the penalty that Trump had said India will have to pay because of its purchases of Russian military equipment and energy.

A former US trade official said the additional duty will essentially cut off most Indian exports to the US, voicing concern over the escalating bilateral dispute.

"Regrettably, the US-India dispute is escalating....the additional 25 per cent tariff will essentially cut off most Indian exports to the US," said senior Vice President of the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and former Deputy US Trade Representative Wendy Cutler.

Shortly after Trump unveiled his move against India, New Delhi noted that Washington has "targeted" its oil imports from Russia and said it will "take all actions" necessary to protect national interests.

Defending India's energy ties with Russia, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of the country.

In its statement, the MEA pointed out that several other countries are also making such procurements to protect their own national interest and hinted its disappointment for singling it out on the issue.

"We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified and unreasonable," it said.

"We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India." "It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest," the statement added.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said Trump’s 50 per cent tariff is "economic blackmail" and "an attempt to bully India into an unfair trade deal." The sectors, which will have to bear the brunt of these tariffs include textiles/ clothing, gems and jewellery, shrimp, leather and footwear, animal products, chemicals, and electrical and mechanical machinery.

The exempted goods, which will not be subject to the high tariffs, include pharmaceutical; energy products such as crude oil, refined fuels, natural gas, coal, and electricity; critical minerals; and a wide range of electronics and semiconductors, like computers, tablets, smartphones, solid-state drives, flat panel displays, and integrated circuits.

After the new levy, India's competitors will be much better placed in the US market as their duty is lower - Myanmar (40 per cent), Thailand and Cambodia (both 36 per cent), Bangladesh (35 per cent), Indonesia (32 per cent), China and Sri Lanka (both 30 per cent), Malaysia (25 per cent), Philippines and Vietnam (both 20 per cent).

The announcement comes at a time when a US team is scheduled to visit India from August 25 for the sixth round of negotiations for the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA). It is also being seen as a pressure tactic to get New Delhi to agree to demands made by the US in the proposed BTA.

According to exporters, the move would affect India's USD 86 billion worth of exports to the US severely.

"It is extremely shocking. It will impact India's 55 per cent of exports to US," Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) DG Ajay Sahai said.

The US is seeking duty concessions on certain industrial goods, automobiles, especially electric vehicles, wines, petrochemical products, agri goods, dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically-modified crops. PTI RR YAS CS ANZ MPB HVA SKC KVK GSN GSN GSN

Additional ad valorem tariff on imports tied to Russian oil purchases raises trade barriers and pressures negotiating leverage. An executive order imposes an additional ad valorem duty on imports from India in response to India's procurement of Russian oil, increasing the total tariff on most Indian goods while exempting specified pharmaceuticals, energy products, critical minerals and a wide range of electronics and semiconductors; the order sets staggered effective dates, targets labour- and export-intensive sectors, and is contemporaneous with bilateral trade negotiations.