Trump says no imminent plans to penalize China for buying Russian oil
The president last week imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil.
However, Trump has not taken similar action against China.
He was asked by Fox News' Sean Hannity if he was now considering such action against Beijing after he and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce an agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine.
"Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that," Trump said after his summit with Putin in Alaska.
"Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think, you know, the meeting went very well." Chinese President Xi Jinping's slowing economy will suffer if Trump follows through on a promise to ramp up Russia-related sanctions and tariffs.
Xi and Trump are working on a trade deal that could lower tensions - and import taxes - between the world's two biggest economies. But China could be the biggest remaining target, outside of Russia, if Trump ramps up punitive measures.
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Korea Herald
19 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Trump says no imminent plans to penalize China for buying Russian oil
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- US President Donald Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil, but might have to "in two or three weeks." Trump has threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil. The president last week imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, citing its continued imports of Russian oil. However, Trump has not taken similar action against China. He was asked by Fox News' Sean Hannity if he was now considering such action against Beijing after he and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce an agreement to resolve or pause Moscow's war in Ukraine. "Well, because of what happened today, I think I don't have to think about that," Trump said after his summit with Putin in Alaska. "Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don't have to think about that right now. I think, you know, the meeting went very well." Chinese President Xi Jinping's slowing economy will suffer if Trump follows through on a promise to ramp up Russia-related sanctions and tariffs. Xi and Trump are working on a trade deal that could lower tensions - and import taxes - between the world's two biggest economies. But China could be the biggest remaining target, outside of Russia, if Trump ramps up punitive measures.
Korea Herald
20 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Trump says US could unveil semiconductor tariffs next week
WASHINGTON -- US President Donald Trump said Friday his administration will unveil tariffs on semiconductor imports as early as next week, as South Korean tech firms Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. have been carefully watching his tariff policy developments. Trump made the remarks in a meeting with reporters aboard Air Force One, as he was en route to Alaska for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin -- the high-stakes meeting where Trump is seeking to broker a halt to the war in Ukraine. "Chips and semiconductors, we'll be setting sometime next week, (or) the week after," Trump said, according to a White House press pool report. He did not elaborate on the exact tariff rate, but said there would be a tariff increase from a "lower" rate to a "very high" rate. "Well, I'm going to have a rate that is going to be lower at the beginning. Then that gives them a chance to come in and build. And very high after a certain period of time," he said. "And if they don't build here, they have to pay a very high tariff." Last week, Trump said his administration will impose a tariff of about 100 percent on chips, as he is pushing to strengthen semiconductor production in the U.S. To impose the tariffs, Trump has invoked Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, a law that provides the president with the authority to adjust imports into the US when he determines they threaten to impair national security. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
21 hours ago
- Korea Herald
No deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine after Trump rolls out red carpet for Putin
Alaska (AP) — President Donald Trump failed to secure an agreement from Vladimir Putin on Friday to end Russia's war in Ukraine, falling short in his most significant move yet to stop the bloodshed, even after rolling out the red carpet for the man who started it. They were expected to give a joint news conference at the end of their talks, but took no questions from reporters and offered scant details. Instead, Putin said they had hammered out an 'understanding' on Ukraine and warned Europe not to 'torpedo the nascent progress.' Trump said they had made 'great progress' at their summit, but there were still sticking points. 'There's no deal until there's a deal,' the US president said. He said he would call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders to brief them on the talks, which lasted about two hours. Trump, who for years has balked at American support for Ukraine and expressed admiration for Putin, had pledged confidently to bring about an end to the war on his first day back in the White House. Seven months later, after berating Zelenskyy in the Oval Office and stanching the flow of some US military assistance to Kyiv, Trump could not bring Putin even to pause the fighting, as his forces made gains on the battlefield. Trump had offered Putin both a carrot and a stick, issuing threats of punishing economic sanctions on Russia while also extending a warm welcome at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, but he appeared to walk away without any concrete result on ending the war in Ukraine, now in its fourth year. The US president had wanted to show off his deal-making skills, while Putin had the opportunity to try to negotiate a deal that would cement Russia's gains, block Kyiv's bid to join the NATO military alliance and eventually pull Ukraine back into Moscow's orbit. 'We had an extremely productive meeting, and many points were agreed to,' Trump said. 'And there are just a very few that are left. Some are not that significant. One is probably the most significant, but we have a very good chance of getting there.' He continued: 'We didn't get there.' Zelenskyy and European leaders were excluded from Trump and Putin's discussions, and Ukraine's president was left posting a video address before the meeting in which he expressed his hope for a 'strong position from the US' For Putin, just being on US soil for the first time in more than a decade was validation after his ostracization following his invasion of Ukraine. His meeting with Trump may stall the economic sanctions that the US president had promised unless Moscow works harder to bring the fighting to a close. It may now simply lead to more meetings, giving his forces more time to make progress on the battlefield. Putin thanked Trump for the 'friendly' tone of their conversation and said Russia and the United States should 'turn the page and go back to cooperation.' He praised Trump as someone who 'has a clear idea of what he wants to achieve and sincerely cares about the prosperity of his country, and at the same time shows understanding that Russia has its own national interests.' 'I expect that today's agreements will become a reference point not only for solving the Ukrainian problem, but will also mark the beginning of the restoration of businesslike, pragmatic relations between Russia and the US,' Putin said. Despite not reaching any major breakthrough, Trump ended his remarks by thanking Putin and saying, 'We will speak to you very soon and probably see you again very soon.' When Putin smiled and offered, 'next time in Moscow,' Trump said 'That's an interesting one,' and said he might face criticism, but 'I could see it possibly happening.' Trump and Putin had greeted each other with a warm handshake, chatting almost like they were old friends, and gripped hands for an extended period of time on a red carpet rolled out at the military base. As they chatted, Putin grinned and pointed skyward, where B-2s and F-22s — military aircraft designed to oppose Russia during the Cold War — flew overhead. The two then shared the U.S. presidential limo known as 'The Beast' for a short ride to their meeting site, with Putin offering a broad smile as the vehicle rolled past the cameras. It was the kind of reception typically reserved for close US allies and belied the bloodshed and suffering in the war Putin started in Ukraine. Although not altogether surprising considering their longtime friendly relationship, such outward friendliness before hours of closed-door meetings likely raised concerns from Zelenskyy and European leaders, who fear that Trump is primarily focusing on furthering U.S. interests and not pressing hard enough for Ukraine's. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said shortly before Air Force One touched down that the previously planned one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin would be a three-on-three discussion, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Putin was joined by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov. The change seemed to indicate that the White House was taking a more guarded approach than it did during a 2018 meeting in Helsinki, where Trump and Putin met privately with their interpreters and Trump then shocked the world by siding with the Russian leader over US intelligence officials on whether Russia meddled in the 2016 campaign. Zelenskyy's exclusion was also a heavy blow to the West's policy of 'nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine' and invites the possibility that Trump could agree to a deal that Ukraine does not want. Russia and Ukraine remain far apart in their demands for peace. Putin has long resisted any temporary ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies and a freeze on Ukraine's mobilization efforts, which are conditions rejected by Kyiv and its Western allies. The meeting comes as the war has caused heavy losses on both sides and drained resources. Ukraine has held on far longer than some initially expected since the February 2022 invasion, but it is straining to hold off Russia's much larger army, grappling with bombardments of its cities and fighting for every inch on the over 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line. Alaska is separated from Russia at its closest point by just 3 miles (less than 5 kilometers) and the international date line. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson was crucial to countering the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It continues to play a role today, as planes from the base still intercept Russian aircraft that regularly fly into US airspace.
