Trump threatens Russia with tariffs, but it's not a simple matter at all

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, July 14.
Photo: AP

President Trump said the U.S. would impose “severe” tariffs on Russia if Moscow did not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine in the next 50 days.

“We’re very, very unhappy with [Russia], and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in about 50 days,” Trump said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.

Trump indicated he would impose a 100 percent “secondary” tariff, which would target other nations that do business with Russia.

President Donald Trump said Monday he would punish Russia with tariffs if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days, the latest example of his growing anger with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump made the announcement during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, AP informs.

“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” the Republican president said. He said they would be “secondary tariffs,” meaning they would target Russia’s trading partners in an effort to isolate Moscow in the global economy.

In addition to the tariff threat, European allies plan to buy military equipment and then transfer it to Ukraine. Rutte said “speed is of the essence here,” and that the agreement should make Putin “reconsider” peace negotiations.

Trump says the European governments will then transfer the munitions to Ukraine under a new deal to support Kyiv in defending itself against Russia.

Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday with Rutte that those transfers — combined with a threat to impose 100% tariffs on all Russian exports if a peace deal isn’t reached within 50 days — should serve as notice to Putin that he’s serious about ending the war.

Trump did not provide details but said the weapons would include Patriot missile defense batteries.

Mark Rutte said Europeans will buy weapons from the U.S. to equip Ukraine, and that the armaments and equipment should cause Russian President Vladimir Putin to “reconsider” peace negotiations.

Rutte said Ukraine would get “massive numbers of military equipment” such as missiles, air defense systems and ammunition.

“Speed is of the essence here,” said Rutte. He said Germany, Finland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Denmark would be among the buyers to supply Ukraine.

The president promised “biting” tariffs if the war doesn’t end. He described them as secondary tariffs, meaning they would target Russia’s trading partners. If implemented, it would be an attempt to isolate Moscow in the global economy.

 “We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” Trump said during a meeting with NATO’s secretary general.

The president suggested such levies could feature 100% tariffs. It wasn’t immediately clear what products could be targeted.

Now, let’s carefully reread what Trump said and think about what he meant when emphasized: “We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days”?

It means that the “deal” could be between Trump and Putin, the US and Russia, who will decide what to do in Ukraine.

Just remember – a couple of days ago on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' meeting at the Kuala Lumpur, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov conveyed some new ideas about the Ukrainian settlement to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Secretary Rubio said he and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov had exchanged “new” and “different” approaches to end the war in Ukraine.

Rubio himself commented on the materials conveyed by Sergey Lavrov as follows: “I think it’s a new and a different approach. I wouldn’t characterize it as something that guarantees a peace, but it’s a concept that I’ll take back to the president.”

Now we can be sure that Trump made his statement on July 14 not by chance – he already knows about Moscow's new proposals.

Within a month and a half – by early autumn – Russia and the US may agree on a settlement. And it looks like Trump is not much interested in Kiev's opinion...

Moreover, a meeting between Trump and Putin is not excluded in China in early September during the celebrations in honor of the end of World War II. Vladimir Putin will definitely come – he accepted the invitation of Chairman Xi Jinping. Trump, as the press leaks, may also come.

Here is a platform for direct Russian-American negotiations “at the end of the 50-day period” designated by Trump now.

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