The new tariff could mean a minimum tax of 45% on goods coming from China, compared to the current rate of 20%
Donald Trump announced this Monday that countries doing business with Iran will face a new 25% tariff. The announcement suggests that goods from China, one of the main trading partners of both Iran and the United States, could become significantly more expensive to import.
“With immediate effect, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a 25% tariff on any and all trade carried out with the United States of America”, . “This order is final and conclusive,” he added.
The White House declined to share additional information about the tariff and how the Trump administration intends to implement it, referring CNN to the president’s post.
Trump did not define what he considers to be “doing business” with Iran. The publication raised several questions, including how these additional tariffs might work, which countries will be targeted and whether services, not just goods, will be subject to higher taxes.
The announcement comes at a time when Trump has spoken of possible US military intervention to “rescue” anti-government protesters in Iran, hundreds of whom have reportedly been killed. A communications cut, imposed by authorities on Thursday, has largely isolated the Iranian population from the rest of the world.
The new tariff could mean a minimum tax of 45% on goods coming from China, compared to the current rate of 20%.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already condemned this measure.
“China’s position on tariffs is very clear: there are no winners in a tariff war, and China will firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters this Tuesday.
In the first 11 months of 2025, China exported goods worth 6.2 billion dollars (approximately 5.7 billion euros) to Iran and imported 2.85 billion dollars (approximately 2.6 billion euros), according to data from Chinese customs.
These numbers do not include oil purchases, which China does not publicly disclose. Analysts estimate that the country has represented more than 90% of Iranian oil trade in recent years, through intermediaries.
A trade war between the United States and China last year shook global markets after Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to a maximum of 145%. The current rate was the result of long negotiations.
In addition to China, India, the United Arab Emirates and Türkiye are considered important trading partners of Iran.
Trump this summer doubled tariffs on goods coming from India to a minimum of 50%, seeking to punish the country for buying Russian oil. The president threatened to apply similar tariffs to other countries that buy oil from Russia, including China, its biggest customer.
Throughout his second term, Trump has used a law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on imports. This unprecedented use of the law is, however, being challenged in the United States Supreme Court, with a decision expected later this month.
If the judges consider that Trump did not have the legal authority to impose these tariffs, the president will not only lose the ability to adjust rates applied to other countries with virtually no restrictions, but the United States could be forced to return at least 130 billion dollars (around 120 billion euros) in tariff revenues.
*Simone McCarthy contributed to this article
