WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly urged European Union officials on Tuesday to impose tariffs of up to 100% on China and India as part of a strategy to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a U.S. official and an EU diplomat.
The request was conveyed via conference call to EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan and other officials. The EU delegation, currently in Washington to coordinate sanctions, was told that the U.S. would be willing to impose similar tariffs if the bloc acted in concert.
“This is essentially: we’ll do this, but you need to do it with us,” the EU diplomat said.
If adopted, the move would mark a significant shift in EU strategy, which has so far focused on isolating Russia through targeted sanctions rather than broad tariffs. Trump has previously threatened tariffs on India and China over their purchases of Russian crude and did raise tariffs on India by 25 percentage points over the summer.
At the same time, Trump has signaled willingness to expand trade with India, posting on social media Tuesday that the U.S. and India are working to address trade barriers and that he looks forward to speaking with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The proposal underscores ongoing U.S. frustration with Europe’s reliance on Russian energy, which last year supplied about 19% of EU gas imports, despite commitments to reduce dependency.
