President Donald Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on India as punishment for importing Russian oil, according to a document posted on the White House website — an escalation of his trade battle with New Delhi and his first use of so-called secondary sanctions on countries the US says are fueling Moscow’s war machine.

Trump has now imposed a total of 50% tariffs on goods imported from India, and his earlier threat of levying an extra 10% for the country's membership in the Brics grouping, which includes China, Russia and South Africa as founding members, still stands.

The White House justified the move as necessary to “deal with the national emergency” arising from Russia’s war in Ukraine, citing India’s ongoing direct and indirect imports of Russian oil.