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United States President Donald Trump says he will slap a 25 percent tariff on any country doing business with Iran, ratcheting up pressure on its government, which is facing its biggest protests in decades.<\/p>\n
Years of Western sanctions have battered the OPEC member nation\u2019s economy, causing high inflation, unemployment and the collapse of its currency, the rial.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n The current protests were triggered by the mounting economic woes, which the Iranian government has struggled to address, partly due to its economic isolation.<\/p>\n Its main source of revenue comes from exports to China, Turkiye, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and India.<\/p>\n So how will Trump\u2019s threat on Monday impact Iran\u2019s international trade? How will countries like China, which buys 80 percent of Iran\u2019s oil, respond?<\/p>\n \u201cEffective immediately, any country doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran will pay a Tariff \u2060of 25% on any and all business being done with the United States of America,\u201d Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Order is final and conclusive,\u201d the US president wrote without providing further details.<\/p>\n There was no official documentation about the policy from the White House on its website or information about the legal authority Trump \u200dwould use to impose \u2060the tariffs.<\/p>\n Trump has piled pressure on Iran\u2019s leaders, including by threatening military action.<\/p>\n In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that Iran is ready for war if Washington wants to \u201ctest\u201d it in an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Arabic on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Washington wants to test the military option it has tested before, we are ready for it,\u201d Araghchi said, adding that he hoped the US would choose \u201cthe wise option\u201d of dialogue while warning of \u201cthose trying to drag Washington into war in order to serve Israel\u2019s interests\u201d.<\/p>\n China is Iran\u2019s largest trading partner with bilateral trade of more than $13bn in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade, a global database of official international trade statistics.<\/p>\n However, due to sanctions, a lot of the trade takes place through a shadow fleet and is not officially recorded. For instance, World Bank data from 2022 suggested the overall trade volume between China and Iran was worth $37bn.<\/p>\n China imported 80 percent of Iran\u2019s oil last year, providing much-needed revenue as other major oil buyers, such as India, drastically cut back their imports after US sanctions were imposed during Trump\u2019s first term in office.<\/p>\n Al Jazeera\u2019s Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said China has been Iran\u2019s top trading partner since 2016. The trade has provided an \u201ceconomic lifeline to Iran\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cChina does not just buy oil. It also purchases other things, such as plastics, iron ore and chemicals. It\u2019s also a major buyer of Iran\u2019s methanol. There are reports that China was considering even increasing its purchase of Iranian oil in the light of the turbulence now in Venezuela,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The new tariff, the Al Jazeera correspondent said, \u201cis really going to hurt Chinese manufacturers\u201d because it will apply on top of the 35 percent tariff that Chinese goods already face in the US.<\/p>\n The potential new tariff comes months after the US and China announced a trade truce, bringing down China\u2019s tariff from more than 100 to 35 percent following a meeting between President Xi Jinping and Trump in October on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.<\/p>\n The Al Jazeera correspondent said the new tariff threat \u201cnot only could jeopardise the current stability that we have between Beijing and Washington, it will also jeopardise Trump\u2019s planned trip to Beijing in April this year\u201d.<\/p>\n The Chinese embassy in Washington condemned Trump\u2019s policy, warning that Beijing would take \u201call necessary measures\u201d to defend its interests and rejecting what it called \u201cillicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cChina\u2019s stance against the arbitrary use of tariffs has been consistent and clear. No one wins in tariff or trade wars, and coercion and pressure are not a solution,\u201d an embassy spokesperson said on X.<\/p>\n Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning said, \u201cThere are no winners in a trade war.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cChina will resolutely safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,\u201d Mao told reporters on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Stressing that China wants peace in the Middle East, Mao said Beijing supports Iran to \u201cmaintain national stability\u201d and \u201coppose[s] interfering in the country\u2019s internal affairs and the use, or threat of use, of force in international affairs\u201d.<\/p>\n According to the UN Comtrade data from 2024, Turkiye was Iran\u2019s second largest trading partner. The trade between the two countries was worth about $5.7bn.<\/p>\n Turkiye faces a baseline tariff from the US of 15 percent. Since June, the US has doubled its tariffs on steel and aluminium from most of its trading partners, including Turkiye, raising them from 25 to 50 percent.<\/p>\n Pakistan is a top export destination for Iran, where the total value of exports was about $1.2bn in 2024.<\/p>\n Pakistani exports to the US face a 19 percent tariff at the moment.<\/p>\n India is a top export destination for Iran, where the total value of exports was just over $1.05bn in 2024.<\/p>\n India faces 50 percent US duties on its steel and aluminium. A range of other Indian exports also faces a 50 percent tariff from the US.<\/p>\n Last week, media reports said the Trump administration is planning to slap 500 percent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
What did Trump say?<\/h2>\n
Who are Iran\u2019s main trading partners, and what is the volume of trade?<\/h2>\n
China<\/h3>\n
Turkiye<\/h3>\n
Pakistan<\/h3>\n
India<\/h3>\n