US President Donald Trump has reportedly asked the European Union (EU) to join the United States in slapping tariffs up to 100 per cent on India and China– two of the biggest Russian crude importers– as part of their so-called collective effort to increase pressure on Moscow to end its war in Ukraine. Trump made the extraordinary demand by dialling into a Tuesday meeting between senior US and EU officials gathered in Washington to discuss ways to hit at the revenue Moscow needs for the war in Ukraine, according to a report by The Financial Times.
“We’re ready to go, ready to go right now, but we’re only going to do this if our European partners step up with us,” the report quoted one US official as saying.
Another official said Washington was ready to “mirror” any tariffs slapped on Beijing and New Delhi by the EU, potentially leading to an exponential rise in US levies on imports from both countries. Trump has already raised levies to 50 per cent on Indian goods, while duties on Chinese exports stand at 30 per cent.
“The president came on this morning, and his view is that the obvious approach here is, let’s all put on dramatic tariffs and keep the tariffs on until the Chinese agree to stop buying the oil. There really aren’t many other places that oil can go,” a US official told FT.
Trump’s Frustation
The US leader’s new proposal comes amid increasing frustration within the White House at the difficulty of brokering a truce between Ukraine and Russia, which Trump once claimed he could do “within hours” after taking charge as the President.
On Sunday, he threatened to impose more sanctions on Russia after the Kremlin unleashed its biggest-ever aerial barrage at Ukraine. Trump has also threatened to penalise countries that buy Russian oil, seeking to cut off a key revenue source for Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s war. But so far, he has only hit India with so-called secondary sanctions due to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.
Meanwhile, China has not been specifically targeted by Washington over its Russian oil trade. In April, Trump sharply increased tariffs on Chinese imports but scaled them back in May after a severe market backlash.
India Tariffs
Trump’s latest remarks came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin and cemented their ties at the SEO summit last week.
On Tuesday evening, the US leader wrote on Truth Social that trade negotiations with India would proceed and suggested they would have a “successful conclusion”.
“India, and the United States of America, are continuing negotiations to address the Trade Barriers between our two Nations. I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the upcoming weeks,” he wrote.
