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President Donald Trump is making ready to announce new secondary tariffs Friday on nations who conduct commerce with Russia amid its lethal conflict in Ukraine.
The White Home has remained tight-lipped on what these tariffs will seem like after the president first mentioned in July they’d quantity to “100%” tariffs earlier than inflicting confusion earlier this week when he advised reporters he “by no means mentioned a proportion.”
Whereas the specifics of what tax charges nations that commerce with Russia may face stay unclear, Trump’s change in posture towards Russian President Vladimir Putin has change into more and more evident.
President Donald Trump, proper, meets Russian President Vladimir Putin on the primary day of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019. (Kremlin Press Workplace/Handout/Anadolu Company/Getty Photographs)
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“Trump’s pissed off that the Russians haven’t taken benefit of his persistence and beneficiant presents, nevertheless it’s very attention-grabbing that even after Trump introduced he was transferring submarines, and even after he introduced the powerful tariffs, the Russians nonetheless need to discuss to him,” Fred Fleitz, who served as a deputy assistant to Trump and chief of employees of the Nationwide Safety Council in the course of the president’s first time period, advised Fox Information Digital.
“Putin doesn’t need to anger Trump,” he added. “Putin by no means fearful about angering Biden, and I feel that this exhibits a level of respect.
“It exhibits what Trump has achieved by exercising management on the worldwide stage. And we’ll see what occurs,” Fleitz mentioned, including he hoped it was not merely a stalling tactic by Putin.
Trump’s return to the White Home introduced with it a way of shock as he appeared to distance Washington from its prime allies in Europe in favor of making an attempt to enhance diplomatic relations with Putin, culminating within the notorious Oval Workplace showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.
Whereas the tussle introduced renewed help from his prime MAGA base, who favor ending U.S. involvement in overseas wars, it prompted concern amongst safety consultants. Finally, Trump’s persistence with Putin started to shift, with the president persistently expressing his frustration on the Kremlin chief’s continued brutal assaults in Ukraine.
In mid-July, whereas sitting subsequent to NATO Secretary Basic Mark Rutte, Trump introduced Putin had 50 days to enter into a ceasefire or face “very extreme” tariffs that may have an effect on Moscow’s prime commodity, oil.
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet within the Oval Workplace of the White Home Feb. 28, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Photographs)
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“Tariffs at about 100%, you’d name them secondary tariffs,” he had mentioned, indicating that nations that commerce with Russia will see 100% tariffs slapped on them when buying and selling with the U.S.
This is able to most vastly have an effect on China and India, in line with data released by the U.S. government Thursday, which confirmed each nations account for 46% of all Russian oil purchases in 2025.
However the U.S. can also be the No. 1 export marketplace for each China and India, which implies greater worth tags on the checkout line on their merchandise will make Individuals suppose twice earlier than finishing these purchases.
After ongoing commerce negotiations with each nations and Putin’s continued conflict effort in Ukraine, Trump final week pushed up his deadline to within 10 days of July 29, forcing a brand new deadline of Friday.
However whereas his promised tariffs had been met with applause by some within the GOP, together with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. — he, together with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-C.T., is pushing the cost for 500% sanctions on Russia — different Republican members haven’t backed the transfer.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has been outspoken towards not solely Trump’s tariffs however the bipartisan sanction push and argued to Fox Enterprise’ Larry Kudlow this week that Trump’s tariffs on allies and foes alike will quantity to $2 trillion in taxes for the American shopper.
However Fleitz pushed again on this argument and mentioned he’s not satisfied that the tariffs will harm the U.S. or Chinese language financial system, although Russia and India are more likely to really feel the ache.
“I feel they’ll harm the Russian and Indian economies,” he mentioned, noting that India may get better by shopping for oil elsewhere. Although some reporting has recommended that India could have saved over $30 billion by more and more turning to Russian oil throughout 2022-2024 as a consequence of Moscow’s worth cuts.
President Donald Trump shows a signed govt order imposing tariffs on imported items throughout a “Make America Rich Once more” commerce announcement occasion within the Rose Backyard of the White Home April 2, 2025. (Getty Photographs/Andrew Harnik)
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“It’ll be one other issue that is going to stress Putin to conform to a ceasefire. I do not know if that is going to occur instantly or in a couple of months, however I feel it’ll put actual stress, inflict actual ache on Russia,” Fleitz mentioned.
As soon as a staunch Trump ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R- Ga., took to X this week in response to a publish by Trump that he could be imposing tariffs on India for buying Russian oil and mentioned, “Finish Indian H1-B visas changing American jobs as an alternative and cease funding and sending weapons to the Obama/Biden/Neocon Ukraine Russia conflict.”
Trump’s favorable transition towards Ukraine and European allies has additionally ruffled some MAGA feathers, although safety consultants have argued it has given the president higher leverage to tackle main adversaries like Putin, and by extension, China.
President Donald Trump, proper, and Mark Rutte, NATO secretary normal, shake arms throughout a gathering within the Oval Workplace of the White Home in Washington, D.C., July 14, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs)
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“Diplomacy and negotiations are a superb factor,” mentioned Fleitz, who serves as vice chair of the America First Coverage Institute’s Heart for American Safety. “Peacemaking takes time, and the U.S.-Russia relationship was in a really dangerous scenario when Trump got here to workplace.
“I feel these sanctions will harm Russia very badly,” Fleitz continued. “The truth that Trump is aware of that secondary sanctions on India has, not less than quickly, harm our relationship is mostly a exceptional signal of how dedicated Trump is to those sanctions.
“There’s not going to be exceptions. It isn’t going to be some sort of sentimental technique with every kind of loopholes,” he added. “I feel it exhibits to Putin how severe Trump is, and it provides Trump leverage to barter with Putin.”
