
‘Pissed off’ Trump mulls Russia tariffs
President Donald Trump said he’s “pissed off” at Russian President Vladimir Putin and would consider “secondary tariffs” on Russian oil if a ceasefire with Ukraine can’t be reached, NBC News reported.
Trump said he was “very angry” about Putin’s recent comments suggesting ways to install new leadership in Ukraine and sideline President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, NBC reported, citing a phone interview with Trump on Sunday. New leadership in Ukraine means “you’re not going to have a deal for a long time, right,” he said.
“I was pissed off about it. But if a deal isn’t made, and if I think it was Russia’s fault, I’m going to put secondary sanctions on Russia,” Trump told NBC, saying he meant “all oil coming out of Russia.” He said he plans to speak to Putin this week.
Russia is one of the world’s three largest oil producers, meaning any attempt to punish purchases of Russian supplies could have a far-reaching effect on the oil market, and any disruptions could add to inflationary pressures.
India and China, which have become the key buyers of Russian barrels since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, would face particular pressure.
Trump said if he can’t make “a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault — which it might not be — but if I think it was Russia’s fault, I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil.”
“That would be that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” he said. “There will be a 25% tariff on all – on all oil, a 25- to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
The U.S. said last week that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to a Black Sea truce as the next stage in Trump’s efforts to end the war, following their acceptance of a 30-day halt to strikes on energy infrastructure.
While Ukraine said it would immediately observe the ceasefire, the Kremlin demanded the removal of sanctions on Russian Agricultural Bank, or RSHB, and other financial institutions involved in foreign trade in food and fertilizers.
Russian crude exports hit a five-month high in March and U.S. sanctions on Russia’s oil tanker fleet are showing signs of faltering.
Trump’s threat “should see prices reacting more strongly considering the volumes at risk,” said Giovanni Staunovo, a commodity analyst at UBS Group AG. “But so far there are no supply disruptions, just threats, and in the past it has taken real disruptions for prices to move higher on a sustained basis.”
Trump last week appeared to invent a new economic statecraft tactic by threatening secondary tariffs on countries that buy oil from Venezuela to choke off its oil trade with other nations.
The threat, confirmed in an executive order by Trump, said countries could face 25% tariffs on trade with the U.S. if they purchase oil and gas from Venezuela, which is already under heavy US sanctions. The move was meant to pressure Venezuela for the “tens of thousands of high level, and other, criminals” that Trump said Venezuela has sent to the US.
Trump also said he’s considering punishing Iran with unspecified “secondary tariffs” and raised the threat of bombing Iran until it signs a deal that renounces nuclear weapons.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” NBC cited Trump as saying.
Trump told Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a recently delivered letter that his nation has a two-month deadline to reach a new nuclear accord, according to a person familiar with its content. Trump has previously suggested he could “go in militarily” if necessary to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
— Skylar Woodhouse and Alex Longley / Bloomberg News