Trump announces 25% tariff on countries doing business with Iran

Donald Trump has said any country that does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on trade with the US, as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran, which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years, the Guardian reports.

“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,” the US president said in a post on Truth Social on Monday. Tariffs are paid by US importers of goods from those countries. Iran has been heavily sanctioned by Washington for years.

“This order is final and conclusive,” Trump said without providing further detail. Top export destinations for Iranian goods include China, the United Arab Emirates and India.

There was no official documentation from the White House of the policy on its website, nor information about the legal authority Trump would use to impose the tariffs, or whether they would be aimed at all of Iran’s trading partners. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

In response to Trump’s declaration, China said it opposed “any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, and will take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests”.

“China’s position against the indiscriminate imposition of tariffs is consistent and clear,” a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in Washington said on X. “Tariff wars and trade wars have no winners, and coercion and pressure cannot solve problems.”

Iran, which had a 12-day war with US ally Israel last year and whose nuclear facilities the US military bombed in June, is seeing its biggest anti-government demonstrations in years. Trump has said the US may meet Iranian officials and that he was in contact with Iran’s opposition, while piling pressure on its leaders, including threatening military action.

Tehran said on Monday it was keeping communication channels with Washington open as Trump considered how to respond to the situation in Iran.