Donald Trump mentioned that US will possible impose a 100% tariff on Russia and threatened sanctions on consumers of Russian exports, together with oil, if it doesn’t finish hostilities with Ukraine. However Trump’s menace of sanctions got here with a 50-day grace interval, a transfer that was welcomed by buyers in Russia the place the rouble recovered from earlier losses and inventory markets rose.
“We’re going to be doing very extreme tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100%,” Trump mentioned Monday throughout a gathering with NATO Secretary Common Mark Rutte on the White Home.
Trump mentioned the levies would come within the type of “secondary tariffs,” with out offering particulars.
On responding to the query if Trump was referring to a secondary sanctions, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick mentioned that sanctions and tariffs had been “each instruments in his toolbox” and that “you are able to do both one.”
A White Home official mentioned Russia may face each measures if it fails to signal a ceasefire deal by early September.
Trump’s menace to impose so-called secondary sanctions on Russia, if carried out, could be a serious shift in Western sanctions coverage.
All through the greater than three-year-old conflict, Western international locations have reduce most of their very own monetary ties to Moscow, however have held again from taking steps that may prohibit Russia from promoting its oil elsewhere. That has allowed Moscow to proceed incomes tons of of billions of {dollars} from transport oil to consumers resembling China and India.
Ukraine thanks US for help
This comes a day after Trump mentioned the US was sending a “top-of-the-line weapons” bundle to Ukraine that features Patriot air protection batteries. The president mentioned that NATO member states can pay for the weapons to be despatched to Ukraine.
“We’re not shopping for it, however we’ll manufacture it,” Trump mentioned. “They’re going to be paying for it.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned on Telegram he had spoken to Trump and “thanked him for his readiness to help Ukraine and to proceed working collectively to cease the killings and set up a long-lasting and simply peace.”
Zelensky held talks with Trump’s envoy Keith Kellogg on Monday.
(With inputs from Bloomberg and Reuters)
