As Donald Trump mulls whether or not the U.S. will intervene militarily in Iran in response to the deadliest anti-regime protests and riots there in years, the President is happy to employ one of his “favorite” words to put pressure on Tehran: tariffs.
“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 posted on Truth Social Monday night. “This Order is final and conclusive.”
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It’s unclear what the President meant by “doing business,” and which countries the latest policy actually covers. The White House has not yet published any information about the new tariff policy or what legal authority it relies on, nor did the White House immediately respond to TIME’s request for clarification.
What’s clear, however, is that the Iran-related levies follow Trump’s use of tariffs to influence foreign policy and “punish” countries that don’t align with the U.S., and as a potential bargaining chip for diplomatic negotiations.
Read More: What’s Happening in Iran Right Now, Explained
But experts have warned that Trump’s tariffs may ultimately come back to bite the American consumer, and the threat of a 25% additional tariff—on top of the levies he already introduced last year that have raised prices—could impact some of the U.S.’s biggest trading partners.
Here are some of the economies that could be covered under Trump’s latest tariff threat.
China
China is a major trading partner of Iran: Chinese customs data shows that from January to November 2025, the country exported $6.23 billion worth of goods to Iran and imported $2.86 billion, and that doesn’t include China’s oil imports from Iran through “teapots”—smaller independent refineries that buy to resell about 90% of Iranian oil exports, as China seeks to evade sanctions on Iran.
Trump’s latest threat of tariffs on Iran’s trading partners would increase the average U.S. levy of 47% that his Administration has imposed on Chinese exports to 72%, which could reignite the trade war between the two biggest economies in the world. Global markets roiled after Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods peaked at a total of 145% last year, and the current average was reached only after months of negotiations.
India
India has also been among Iran’s largest trade partners in recent years. Major Indian exports to Iran include rice, tea, sugar, pharmaceuticals, and electrical machinery, while New Delhi primarily imports dry fruits, inorganic or organic chemicals, and glassware. Reuters reports that India’s total bilateral trade with Iran was at $1.34 billion for the first 10 months of 2025, citing data from India’s commerce ministry.
India also already faces existing tariffs under Trump. In August, the U.S. President imposed a minimum 50% tariff on goods from India in an attempt to punish the country for buying Russian oil. But The Hindu reported that India would likely be able to find alternative trading partners to Iran, should Trump’s latest tariff threat materialize. While stopping imports from Iran could potentially affect India’s fresh fruit supply in the short term and stopping exports would most impact the basmati rice sector, the country has historically reduced trade with Iran in response to past U.S. sanctions.
Türkiye
Türkiye and Iran, which share a border, have been working to boost their trade ties: the two set an aspirational target of $30 billion in bilateral trade volume.
According to Türkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the total volume of trade it has with Iran was $5.68 billion in 2024. Türkiye mainly exports machinery and parts, plastics and various chemical products, agricultural products, and metal ores to Iran, while it imports natural gas, metal, and agricultural products from its neighbor.
Currently, the U.S., which has a $1.4 billion goods trade deficit and $940 million services trade surplus with Türkiye, has imposed an average 15% reciprocal tariff on goods from Türkiye, which is relatively moderate compared to other countries’ rates.
United Arab Emirates
Data from the United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Economy and Tourism shows the total trade volume between the UAE and Iran just across the Persian Gulf was at $6.62 billion in 2024, though Abu Dhabi has acted as a re-export hub for goods, allowing Iran’s products to move through its ports and into other global markets.
Under Trump’s “reciprocal tariff” policy last year, goods from most countries, including Gulf States like the UAE, face a baseline 10% duty.
Brazil
Iran has found a stable Latin American trading partner in Brazil, with trade relations fueled by agribusiness. Last year, CNN Brasil reported—citing federal data—that Brazilian exports to Tehran exceeded $3 billion in 2024. Among Brazil’s top exports to the country are soybeans, followed by corn, sugar, and other agricultural products. Brazil, however, imports relatively little from Iran. Iran’s state-funded broadcaster Press TV also reported last year that Brasília and Tehran have agreed to boost their trade volume to around $10 billion.
Brazil and Iran have stable diplomatic relations: Iran in 2024 joined the BRICS regional bloc, of which Brazil was a founding member alongside Russia, India, and China. Trump last year threatened an additional 10% tariff on countries that support the “anti-American” policies of the bloc, after earlier threatening a 100% tariff on the group should they try to push an alternative to the dominance of the U.S. Dollar.
The U.S. is Brazil’s second-largest trading partner, with goods and services trade totaling $127.6 billion in 2024. But last August, Trump hiked tariffs on Brazilian goods to 50% in response to Brazil’s treatment of its former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally who was sentenced months later in September to 27 years in prison for leading an attempted coup in January 2023.
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