US President Donald Trump has called on EU officials to impose tariffs of up to 100% on China and India to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a Reuters report. Trump reportedly made this request during a conference call with EU sanctions envoy David O'Sullivan and other EU officials, who are currently in Washington to discuss sanctions coordination.
The US had indicated it was willing to impose similar tariffs if the European Union heeded the US request, the report added. The US request, if heeded, would result in a change of strategy for the EU, which has preferred to isolate Russia with sanctions rather than tariffs.
The US began charging Indian goods a 50% tariff from Aug. 27, including a 25% punitive levy for buying Russian oil. Washington has accused New Delhi of fueling Russia's war in Ukraine by purchasing its oil.
China and India are major purchasers of Russian oil and, as such, they play a vital role in keeping Russia's economy afloat as it continues to pursue its expanded invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.
The US President has frequently complained that Europe itself has not fully decoupled from Russia, which supplied about 19% of EU gas imports last year although the bloc says it is committed to fully ending its dependency on Russian energy.
Meanwhile, in his latest post on Tuesday, Trump suggested that Washington and New Delhi are continuing negotiations to resolve trade frictions, and said he was confident that the two countries will arrive at a successful resolution over the tariff issue. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he looked forward to speaking with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the coming weeks.
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