Donald Trump threatens to impose 100% tariffs on Russia's allies, Kremlin says it doesn't respond to ultimatums

Indian Express

15-07-2025

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100 per cent 'secondary tariffs' on countries trading with Russia unless Moscow agrees to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days. Speaking alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House, the US president said he was 'very unhappy' with Russia's lack of progress towards a peace deal and was disappointed in President Vladimir Putin. 'I thought we would have had a deal two months ago,' Trump said.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday that Moscow is ready to negotiate, but warned that Russia 'did not warm to ultimatums.' The Kremlin has not formally responded to the 50-day deadline, but Ryabkov's statement signals reluctance to engage under threat.
The tariffs, Trump warned, would be 'biting' and 'very, very powerful.' He added, 'we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent — you'd call them secondary tariffs.'
Trump has previously floated the idea of secondary sanctions, targeting countries that continue doing business with Russia, as a way to isolate Moscow from global trade networks. 'We've been very successful in settling wars with trade,' Trump said, citing India-Pakistan and Rwanda–DR Congo as examples.
Alongside the tariff warning, Trump confirmed a major NATO weapons deal to support Ukraine, including shipments of US-made Patriot missile systems. He said 'billions of dollars' worth of military equipment' would be purchased by NATO allies from the US and 'quickly distributed to the battlefield.'
Countries involved in the deal include Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Canada, according to Rutte, who emphasised, that 'speed is of the essence here.' Trump added that 'one country has 17 Patriot systems getting ready to be shipped,' and confirmed that Norway would be among those contributing batteries.
'This is only the first wave,' said Rutte, suggesting more arms will follow. The Patriot missile system is the only one in Ukraine's arsenal capable of intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. Rutte said the deal would be structured to account for US military stockpile needs.
Russia, meanwhile, has escalated its aerial attacks on Ukraine. Hundreds of Iranian-designed suicide drones along with cruise and ballistic missiles have struck civilian and military infrastructure in recent weeks. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, June saw the highest number of civilian casualties in three years — with 232 people killed and 1,343 injured.
Ukraine's air defence systems have been under strain. While the country maintains an interception rate around 70 per cent, the volume of attacks means dozens of drones and several missiles are still hitting targets. The UN said Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June 2025 than in June 2024.