Trump urges EU to impose one hundred per cent tariffs on India, China

(MENAFN) President Donald Trump has reportedly called on the European Union to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from China and India, urging a united front aimed at increasing economic pressure on Moscow, according to reports.

The appeal was said to have been made during a call-in by Trump to a high-level meeting in Washington between US and EU officials, where strategies to raise the financial cost of the Ukraine conflict for Russia were under discussion.

A US official involved in the talks said Washington was “ready to go, ready to go right now, but we’re only going to do this if our European partners step up with us.” Another source described Trump’s stance: “The president came on this morning and his view is that the obvious approach here is, let’s all put on dramatic tariffs and keep the tariffs on until the Chinese agree to stop buying the oil.” A second official added that the United States was prepared to “mirror” any tariffs imposed by Brussels on Beijing and New Delhi.

Reports noted that EU officials were already debating possible secondary sanctions on China over its imports of Russian energy, though they cautioned that the talks remained at an “early stage” and hinged on Washington’s backing.

India, meanwhile, has resisted outside pressure to cut back on Russian crude purchases. Just last month, Trump doubled tariffs on Indian exports to 50%, citing its energy ties with Moscow. In response, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman denounced the measure as “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable,” underscoring that New Delhi’s oil strategy is dictated by domestic economic priorities.

China has also brushed aside Western criticism, insisting it will “ensure its energy supply” in line with national interests, while cautioning that “tariff wars have no winners.”

Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Russia has become a leading supplier of oil to both India and China.

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