(Image source from: Indiatoday.in)
U.S. President Donald Trump called on European Union officials on Tuesday to impose tariffs of as much as 100% on China as part of a plan to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a U.S. official and a diplomat from the EU. Trump also asked the EU to apply similar high tariffs on India, according to the official, who asked to remain unnamed to discuss private discussions. Both China and India buy large amounts of Russian oil, making them essential for supporting Russia's economy as it continues its large invasion of Ukraine, which started in 2022. Trump made this request through a phone call to EU sanctions envoy David O'Sullivan and other EU representatives. The EU team is currently in Washington to talk about coordinating sanctions. The EU diplomat mentioned that the U.S. showed that it would be ready to impose similar tariffs if the European Union agreed to the U.S. proposal. "They are essentially saying: We can do this, but you need to join us," the diplomat explained.
If the U.S. request is accepted, it would lead to a shift in the EU's approach, which has mostly focused on using sanctions to isolate Russia rather than tariffs. Trump's request was first reported by the Financial Times. He has often threatened to impose tariffs on India and China as punishment for their buying of Russian oil. While he raised tariffs on India by 25 percentage points over the summer partly because of its economic ties with Russia, Trump has not yet acted on the harsher measures he has suggested. At times, he has voiced concerns that Europe itself has not moved away from Russia completely, which provided around 19% of the EU's gas imports last year, even though the EU claims it is dedicated to completely ending its reliance on Russian energy. Later on Tuesday, Trump indicated that the U.S. might increase trade with India, stating in an evening social media update that the two countries are working to eliminate trade obstacles between them. He also expressed his eagerness to chat with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
