US President Donald Trump has announced that any country trading with Iran will face a 25 per cent tariff on all US business.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said: “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.”
“This Order is final and conclusive,” Mr Trump said without providing any further detail.
The Chinese foreign ministry condemned Trump’s policy, warning that Beijing would take all necessary measures to defend its interests.
“China’s position on the tariffs issue is very clear. Tariff wars have no winners. China will firmly protect its legitimate and lawful rights and interests,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters in a regular press conference on Tuesday.
Stressing that China wants peace in the Middle East, Mao said Beijing supports Iran to “maintain national stability” and “oppose[s] interference in other countries’ internal affairs” and “the use or threat of force in international relations.”
China dominates Iran’s trade, emerging as its top export destination in 2024, with Türkiye as the second largest.
In 2024, Iran’s top export destinations were China, Türkiye, Pakistan, India, and the European Union (EU).
The president made the announcement in a short social media post that described the trade measure as “final and conclusive,” but lacked key details.
There has been no detail as yet from the White House as to how it would work in practice, or which countries specifically it would apply to.
We don’t know if it would cover all countries who deal with Iran or just its biggest trade partners.
It is also unclear whether the 25% tax will come on top of existing tariffs the Trump administration has already imposed.
Tariffs typically are imposed with a lag that provides importers time to alter their plans to avoid stiff new fees. Immediate tariffs would be enormously disruptive to international trade, as goods from many of the affected countries are already at sea bound for the United States.
Since coming to power the second time, Trump has been using tariffs as leverage against other countries.
During the course of his second term in office, the US president has often threatened and imposed tariffs on other countries over trade policies that he has described as unfair to Washington.
Tariffs have risen significantly since January 2025, the World Bank said, warning that “further increases may occur.”
The World Bank assessment is that the elevated geopolitical risks could reduce international trade by about 30% to 40%.
