U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he would impose additional tariffs as part of his sanctions strategy against Russia if the nation fails to reach an agreement to conclude its conflict in Ukraine. He indicated that these tariffs could also extend to "other participating countries."
In a statement on Truth Social, Trump clarified his remarks from Tuesday, in which he suggested that sanctions against Russia would likely be enacted if President Vladimir Putin did not engage in negotiations to resolve the nearly three-year-long war.
“If we do not reach a ‘deal’ soon, I will have no alternative but to impose significant Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on all goods sold by Russia to the United States and various other participating nations,” Trump stated.
His post did not specify which countries he considered to be participants in the conflict or how he defined their involvement.
The administration of former President Joe Biden has imposed extensive sanctions on thousands of entities across various sectors in Russia, including banking, defense, manufacturing, energy, and technology, following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which has resulted in significant loss of life and widespread destruction.
Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s deputy U.N. Ambassador, remarked that Moscow would need to understand what Trump envisions as a “deal” to end the war in Ukraine.
“It is not simply a matter of ending the war,” Polyanskiy told Reuters. “The primary concern is addressing the underlying causes of the Ukrainian crisis.”
In the lead-up to his election victory on November 5, Trump repeatedly asserted that he would secure a deal between Ukraine and Russia on his first day in office, if not sooner. However, his advisors have acknowledged that achieving such a deal could take months or even longer.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury implemented its most stringent sanctions yet on Russia’s energy sector, targeting oil and gas companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, along with 183 vessels associated with the so-called dark fleet of tankers designed to circumvent other Western trade restrictions.
SANCTION AND TARIFF THREATS
Trump has attempted to leverage the potential imposition of tariffs to pursue objectives beyond trade, specifically by threatening Mexico, Canada, and China with duties in an effort to compel them to address illegal immigration and the influx of the dangerous opioid fentanyl into the United States.
These three nations represent the largest trading partners of the U.S., collectively accounting for over $2.1 trillion in annual bilateral trade.
In contrast, Russia ranks much lower on this list, with U.S. imports from Russia plummeting to $2.9 billion during the first eleven months of 2024, a significant decrease from $29.6 billion in 2021.
The U.S. imported $13.5 billion in Russian petroleum products in 2014; however, this figure has dropped to zero due to sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine. Other major import categories from a decade ago, such as semi-finished steel and pig iron, have also seen their imports cease entirely.
Nevertheless, the U.S. continues to import considerable quantities of Russian fertilizers for agricultural use, amounting to approximately $1.4 billion in 2023, along with over $1 billion each in uranium for nuclear energy and palladium and rhodium for automotive catalytic converters.
Tim Brightbill, a trade attorney at the Wiley Rein law firm in Washington, suggested that one effective strategy to impact Russia significantly would be to impose sanctions and halt the use of Russian timber in finished wood products imported from countries like China and Vietnam.
Regarding other international actors, the Biden administration has enacted sanctions against entities in North Korea and Iran for supplying weapons to Russia, as well as against Chinese firms providing components and other materials that support Russia's military efforts.
Trump remarked that he intended to do Russia, whose economy is struggling, and President Putin a significant favor by urging them to settle and end what he termed a "ridiculous war."
The negotiating stances of the conflicting parties remain markedly divergent, and some Ukrainians express concern that they may be compelled to make substantial concessions following three years of intense warfare.
The conflict has evolved into a war of attrition, primarily concentrated along the front lines in eastern Ukraine, resulting in substantial casualties on both sides.
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