Trump asks EU to impose 100% tariffs on China and India to pressure Putin

2025-09-10 07:37:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

US President Donald Trump has asked the EU to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on India and China as part of a joint effort to increase pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine, according to three officials familiar with the matter.

The president made the extraordinary request after meeting Tuesday in a telephone meeting between senior US and EU officials gathered in Washington to discuss ways to increase the economic cost of the war on Moscow.

"We are ready to launch, ready to launch now, but we will only do so if our European partners support us," a US official said.

Another US official said Washington was prepared to "mirror" any tariffs on China and India imposed by the EU, potentially leading to a further increase in US taxes on imports from both countries.

"The president came in this morning and his view is that the obvious approach here is, let's all put dramatic tariffs in place and keep the tariffs in place until the Chinese agree to stop buying oil. There aren't many other places the oil can go," the US official said.

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters that he expected to have a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week or early next week.

Trump's move comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping, Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi strengthened their ties at a summit last week.

Last month, the US raised tariffs on Indian imports to 50 percent over the country's purchases of Russian oil, escalating tensions with the South Asian nation. On Tuesday evening, Trump wrote on Truth Social that trade negotiations with India would continue and suggested they would have a successful conclusion.

"India and the United States of America are continuing negotiations to address trade barriers between our two nations. I look forward to speaking with my very good friend, Prime Minister Modi, in the coming weeks," Trump wrote.

Washington has not specifically targeted China over its purchases of Russian oil. In April, Trump sharply increased tariffs on Chinese imports, but lowered them in May after a fierce market reaction.

EU officials, led by the bloc's sanctions chief, David O'Sullivan, participated in the discussions in Washington, along with senior US Treasury officials.

European capitals were discussing possible secondary sanctions against countries like China and India for buying Russian oil and gas, officials told the Financial Times this week, but many are nervous given the EU's trade relations with Beijing and New Delhi.

US diplomats in Europe have told EU leaders that the Trump administration is not prepared to impose punitive measures on buyers of Russian oil and gas without EU participation. Some European countries also continue to buy Russian energy products for themselves.

"It's a question of whether the Europeans have the political will to end the war. Any of this is certainly going to be costly, and for the president to do that, we need our EU partners and ideally all of our partners with us," the US official said./ CNA, translated by Financial Times