Trump vows more secondary sanctions for Russia oil buyers are coming, including potentially on China
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US President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that more punishment was coming for countries buying Russian energy products after slapping a 25% tariff on India that is supposed to go into effect Thursday.
'You're going to see a lot more. So this is a taste,' he said in the Oval Office. 'You're going to see a lot more. You're going to see so much secondary sanctions.'
The move is part of Trump's high-stakes effort to cripple Russia's economy over its war in Ukraine. He had set a Friday deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to make peace before imposing that economic punishment.
Previous rounds of US sanctions, including under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden, knocked Russia's economy but have not stopped Putin's war machine.
The strategy marks an escalation in Trump's use of tariffs, his signature second-term weapon. He has previously used them to pursue a sprawling agenda, from protecting US manufacturing to pressuring foreign governments on policy.
These 'secondary tariffs,' however, are being used to force third-party nations into a choice: sever ties with a US adversary or risk further penalties.
While Trump voiced optimism about progress made during a meeting Wednesday between Putin and US envoy Steve Witkoff, he suggested it wasn't enough to stave off the new sanctions.
The top purchaser of Russian energy is China, with which Trump is working to negotiate a new trade deal. US officials have described significant progress on those talks. But Trump did not rule out applying the new secondary sanctions on Beijing, despite the potential for scuttling the trade discussions.
'One of them could be China,' he said. 'It may happen. I don't know. I can't tell you yet.'
China previously said it will 'take energy supply measures that are right for China based in our national interests.'
'Tariff wars have no winners,' foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a news briefing last week. 'Coercion and pressuring cannot solve problems. China will firmly safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests.'
The US and China are still working to extend a trade truce that held back triple-digit tariffs, which is set to expire on August 12.
China's exports accelerated before that looming deadline, beating expectations to grow 7.2% in July from a year earlier – a faster pace than June's 5.8%.
Trump's secondary tariff threats have escalated tensions between Washington and another of its most important trading partners.
The US president announced sweeping and substantial tariffs on India Wednesday, making the penalties imposed on the world's fifth-largest economy among the highest the US charges.
In addition to a 25% tariff set to go into effect Thursday, Trump also announced a 25% tariff on India that will go into effect later this month as punishment for importing Russian oil and gas.
India responded to Trump's tariff escalation, defending its purchases of Russian oil.
'We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India,' a statement from India's Ministry of External Affairs said.
'It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest.'
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And Switzerland, which Trump had previously praised, is facing 39% tariffs after a conversation between its leader and Trump derailed a deal. Ryan Majerus, a trade lawyer who worked in both the first Trump administration and the Biden government, said what's been announced so far fails to address "longstanding, politically entrenched trade issues" that have bothered U.S. policymakers for decades, and getting there would likely take "months, if not years." He also noted they lack specific enforcement mechanisms for the big investments announced, including $550 billion for Japan and $600 billion for the EU. PROMISES AND RISKS Critics lit into European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after she agreed to a 15% tariff during a surprise meeting with Trump during his trip to Scotland last month, while gaining little in return. The deal frustrated winemakers and farmers, who had sought a zero-for-zero tariff. Francois-Xavier Huard, head of France's FNIL national dairy sector federation, said 15% was better than the threatened 30%, but would still cost dairy farmers millions of euros. European experts say von der Leyen's move did avert higher tariffs, calmed tensions with Trump, averting potentially higher duties on semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and cars, while making largely symbolic pledges to buy $750 billion of U.S. strategic goods and invest over $600 billion. Meeting those pledges will fall to individual EU members and companies, and cannot be mandated by Brussels, trade experts and analysts note. U.S. officials insist Trump can re-impose higher tariffs if he believes the EU, Japan or others are not honoring their commitments. But it remains unclear how that would be policed. And history offers a caution. China, with its state-run economy, never met its modest purchase agreements under Trump's Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal. Holding it to account proved difficult for the subsequent Biden administration. "All of it is untested. The EU, Japan and South Korea are going to have to figure out how to operationalize this," Shaw said. "It's not just government purchases. It's getting the private sector motivated to either make investments or back loans, or to purchase certain commodities." And lastly, the main premise for the tariffs Trump has imposed unilaterally faces legal challenges. His legal team met with stiff questioning during appellate court oral arguments over his novel use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, historically used for sanctioning enemies or freezing their assets, to justify his tariffs. A ruling could come any time and regardless of the outcome seems destined to be settled ultimately by the Supreme Court. Sign in to access your portfolio
