UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Trump’s latest tariff threat on Iran to have little impact on India

Q1. The 25% secondary tariff threat on countries 'doing business with' Iran, announced in January 2026, was issued exclusively under the authority of which one of the following?

  • A. The Office of the United States Trade Representative under Section 301 of the Trade Act, 1974
  • B. The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury
  • C. The Executive Office of the President of the United States
  • D. The U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security

Q2. In India, the export promotion of basmati rice — the commodity most directly exposed to the January 2026 U.S. secondary tariff threat on Iran — is operationalised primarily by which one of the following statutory bodies?

  • A. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • B. Food Corporation of India, under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
  • C. National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
  • D. Indian Council of Agricultural Research, under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education

Q3. In the context of the January 2026 U.S. tariff threat on Iran's trade partners, the term 'secondary tariff' is most accurately defined as which one of the following?

  • A. A tariff imposed by the United States on a third country solely because of that country's trade with a separately sanctioned target country, rather than because of its own trade conduct vis-à-vis the United States
  • B. A tariff imposed under the WTO's Agreement on Safeguards when a sudden import surge threatens a domestic industry
  • C. A countervailing duty imposed to neutralise the effect of an export subsidy provided by a foreign government
  • D. An additional tariff imposed under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act after a formal investigation finds a partner country's trade practices to be unreasonable or discriminatory

Q4. Which one of the following constituted the single largest category, by value, of India's exports to Iran in FY 2024-25?

  • A. Tea
  • B. Pharmaceutical products
  • C. Basmati rice
  • D. Man-made fibres