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Trump threatens 100% tariff on Russia, secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil
Donald Trump and NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte announced a new scheme that would ensure a flow of American weapons to Ukraine through NATO nations.
US President Donald Trump said America could impose 100% tariffs on Russia and impose “secondary tariffs” if Moscow does not agree to a deal to end the Ukraine war within 50 days.
“We’re very, very unhappy with them. And we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days. Tariffs at about 100 per cent, you’d call them secondary tariffs,” Trump told reporters while sitting down with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte on Monday.
Trump and Rutte announced a new scheme that would ensure a flow of American weapons to Ukraine through NATO nations.
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According to reports in the US media, White House officials confirmed that Trump will pursue 100% tariffs on Russia and secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Russian energy. Trump told reporters that the tariffs on Russia would be “biting” and “powerful”.
In recent weeks, Trump has criticised Russia’s President Vladimir Putin for prolonging the Ukraine war and refusing to negotiate an end to the conflict.
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“I’m disappointed in President Putin, because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago,” said Trump on Monday.
Trump’s threats to place tariffs on Russia and other countries comes even as momentum builds behind the Sanctioning Russia Bill 2025 in the United States Senate.
The bill proposes 500% tariffs on countries that purchase Russian energy products, including India and China. India was the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in May 2025, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. It is estimated that India purchased fossil fuels worth €4.2 billion from Russia in May, with crude oil amounting to 72% of the total.
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Last week, President Trump said that he would strongly consider the bill, which was introduced in the Senate in April. The bill has bipartisan support in the Senate and is backed by Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator and a close ally of President Trump. However, the bill also makes provisions for the President to provide specific country waivers for select periods of time. Trump has expressed support for these waiver provisions, which give the President flexibility to decide how widespread the sanctions will be.
India’s external affairs minister S Jaishankar said earlier this month that the Indian Embassy in Washington DC was in touch with Senator Graham regarding India’s concerns on the bill. Graham, along with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, have worked to push the bill through the Senate speedily.
