China and India in focus
Donald Trump has urged the European Union to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from China and India in a bid to pressure Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine.
According to officials familiar with the talks, the US president made the call after dialling into a high-level meeting between US and EU officials in Washington. He told European leaders that “dramatic tariffs” were the most effective way to force Beijing and New Delhi to stop buying Russian oil, a key source of revenue for Vladimir Putin’s war effort.
White House frustration grows
Trump’s proposal comes amid mounting frustration in Washington over the difficulty of brokering a peace deal and Russia’s increasingly aggressive aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities.
A official added that Washington would “mirror” any EU tariffs on China and India, opening the door to further increases in US duties on imports from the two Asian giants.
Economic risks ahead
The call for sweeping tariffs highlights a more hardline approach from the Trump administration, but risks deepening trade tensions with both China and India. The EU has previously hesitated to take direct action against the two countries, wary of damaging vital economic ties.
Trump, however, argued that sanctions alone were insufficient. “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,” one official quoted him as saying.
