President Donald Trump asked the European Union to levy tariffs of up to 100% on China and India to punish the countries for purchasing Russian oil, a move Washington says would increase economic pressure on Moscow, according to a report citing U.S. officials and a well-placed source.
The request, first reported by the New York Post, was described as part of broader White House efforts to persuade allies to target nations that continue to buy Russian energy. U.S. officials told the Post that if Europe implements the up-to-100% tariffs, the United States may be willing to adopt similar measures against those buyers. The White House has also asked European partners to consider potential secondary sanctions that would target countries that import Russian oil.
U.S. officials and the source said the push for steep tariffs is intended to curb revenue flows that analysts say help finance Russia’s war in Ukraine. Data from the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air show that in July China purchased more than $7.2 billion worth of fossil fuels from Russia, while India’s purchases were roughly $3.6 billion.
The White House already has placed a 50% tariff on India tied to its purchases of Russian oil but has so far refrained from imposing a comparable penalty on China, according to the Post. U.S. officials said Washington does not directly buy Russian oil.
Trump has been pressing European leaders in recent phone calls to both stop buying Russian energy products and to sanction those who continue to import them, officials said. The effort is part of ongoing diplomacy to increase economic isolation of Moscow.
In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, Trump said he would be speaking with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi "in the coming weeks" and noted that the United States and India were continuing negotiations to address trade barriers. "I feel certain that there will be no difficulty in coming to a successful conclusion for both of our Great Countries!" he wrote.
It was not immediately clear whether the European Union would adopt the measure requested by the United States or how Beijing and New Delhi would respond. Trade experts say tariffs of the magnitude proposed would mark a sharp escalation in economic measures and could have broad effects on global trade flows and diplomatic relations.
Sanctions and tariffs aimed at curbing revenue to Russia have been a central part of Western policy since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. Allies have regularly debated the use of secondary sanctions and trade penalties to deter third countries from undermining the impact of those restrictions. Trump’s request adds pressure on European policymakers to consider markedly heavier duties on two of Russia’s largest energy buyers.
Officials in Washington and European capitals did not immediately provide further comment on the Post report.