WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump warned on Monday that Washington will impose tariffs on Russia within 10 days unless Moscow takes steps to end its three-year war in Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he hadn’t heard back from Russian officials and signalled that time was running out.
He also brushed off concerns about oil prices, saying the US could increase its own production to make up for any impact.
“I don’t know if it’s going to affect Russia, because (Russian President Vladimir Putin) wants to, obviously, probably keep the war going,” Trump said. “But we’re going to put on tariffs and the various things that you put on.”
The US president, who has in the past spoken about having a good relationship with Putin, has grown increasingly frustrated with Moscow’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire. The fresh deadline suggests Trump is now ready to act on his threat of sanctions, after previously hesitating.
Speaking in Scotland on Monday, he threatened sanctions on both Russia and countries that continue to buy its exports – also known as secondary sanctions – unless progress is made.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters he had raised the issue of secondary sanctions with Chinese officials during two days of bilateral talks this week.
He said he warned Chinese officials that Beijing could face steep tariffs if it continued purchasing Russian oil.
In a post on X, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of Putin, said Trump was playing “a game of ultimatums” that could lead to a war involving the United States.
Trump, who is also facing pressure to secure a peace deal in Gaza, has promoted his role in resolving past conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Rwanda and Congo. Before returning to the White House in January, Trump had campaigned on a pledge to end the Russia-Ukraine war in a single day.
