Iran will continue buying Sri Lankan tea despite U.S. tariff warning: Ambassador

• Ties strong enough to withstand U.S. tariff threats
• Not aware of Sri Lanka’s decision, though 

By Kelum Bandara 

In response to a question about the possible impact of any additional 25 per cent tariffs by the U.S. on countries trading with Iran, Iranian Ambassador in Sri Lanka Dr Alireza Delkhosh said that the bilateral ties are strong enough to withstand such warnings.   

The ambassador said it at an interactive session with a group of journalists at his residence in Colombo. He also said that such a question should be directed at the Sri Lankan side.   

“Actually, this question should be asked from Sri Lankan authorities because this is something related to the Sri Lankan government,” he said.   

He said that Iran, as the main buyer of Sri Lankan tea, will continue importing from Sri Lanka.   

“But in Sri Lankan government’s view, I don’t know what will be the decision of their side. I’m sure that Sri Lanka is very alert about keeping its very ancient relations with big countries like Iran.   

U.S. President Donald Trump has said countries doing business with Iran will face a 25 per cent tariff on trade they do with America.   

Sri Lanka mainly trades with Iran through third countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Meanwhile, leading scholar Rohan Samarajiva, who heads the think–tank called ‘LIRNEasia’ responded to the query about possible implications of such an action by the U.S. He said there are many variables at play.   

“On the books, we may be selling tea to Iran. We may also be buying items like fertiliser from Iran, but through third countries. The tea sales will trigger the penalty tariffs on Sri Lanka’s exports to the U.S. Over a few months, we will likely have to pay more for fertiliser or face shortages because the intermediaries can no longer source cheap fertiliser. These kinds of arbitrary changes are detrimental to international trade, where the relevant contracts may have been entered into long before Trump woke up with this idea. Losses will be caused. Trade will become very risky,” he said.   

China and India are among Iran’s trading partners in the world. Sri Lanka’s exports to Iran stood at approximately US $ 67.8 million in 2024, and imports at US $ 2.4 million.