Minimal risk for India from Trump's 25 per cent Iran-linked tariffs: Govt sources

US President Donald Trump's fresh threat of a 25 per cent tariff on any country doing business with Iran is likely to have a "minimal impact" on India, government sources said on Tuesday.

As Iran continued to witness massive anti-government protests, Trump said on Tuesday that the 25 per cent tariff will be slapped on countries having trade with Tehran and it will become "effective immediately". The death toll in the nationwide protests in Iran increased to over 2,000, according to activists.

"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 on social media.

There was no clarity on implementation of the tariff as no formal notification has been issued by the Trump administration on it yet, people aware of the matter said.

In August, Trump slapped a 50 per cent tariff on India including a 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil. If India comes under the fresh tariff regime, then the duties on Indian goods are expected to increase beyond 50 per cent.

For India, Iran does not even figure in the top 50 global trading partners, the sources cited above said. Last year, India's trade with Iran was USD 1.6 billion, which is approximately 0.15 per cent of India's total trade, they said.

India's trade value with Iran is expected to go down further in the current financial year due to external economic factors, the sources said. India's current trade with Iran is bare minimum and it primarily involves food items and pharmaceuticals.

India stopped importing oil from Iran in May 2019 because of sanctions imposed by Trump in his first term.

Iran's total imports in 2024 were worth almost USD 68 billion, and the country's leading import partners were the UAE (USD 21 billion or 30 per cent of Tehran's imports), China (USD 17 billion or 26 per cent), Turkiye (USD 11 billion or 16 per cent), and the European Union (USD 6 billion or 9 per cent).

India is a development partner in Iran's Chabahar port project. The two sides have a 10-year agreement on the development of a terminal at the port. The Trump administration granted a six-month exemption from US sanctions applicable from October 2024 for the Chabahar port.