President Donald Trump said countries that do business with Iran will face a new 25% tariff. The announcement appears to mean goods from China, a major trading partner of both Iran and the United States, would become significantly more expensive to import.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday. “This Order is final and conclusive,” he added.
The White House declined to share additional information on the tariff and how the Trump administration plans to implement it, referring CNN to the president’s post.
Trump did not define what qualifies as “doing business” with Iran. The post raised a number of questions, including how these additional tariffs could work, which countries would be targeted and whether services and not just goods would face higher duties.
Trump’s announcement comes as he has floated US military intervention to “rescue” anti-government protesters in Iran, hundreds of whom have been killed. An ongoing communications shutdown, imposed by authorities on Thursday, has mostly isolated people in the country from the outside world.
The new tariff could mean a minimum 45% tariff rate on goods from China versus the current rate of 20%.
A trade war between the United States and China last year rocked global markets, with Trump raising tariffs on Chinese goods to a peak of 145% last year. The current tariff rate came about after lengthy negotiations.
In addition to China, India, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey are considered major trading partners with Iran.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
