Russia will face severe sanctions and tariffs if the country does not sign a ceasefire deal to end the war with Ukraine in 50 days, a White House official confirmed to National Review. President Donald Trump made the announcement in the Oval Office Monday.
“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” he said.
The U.S. will impose secondary tariffs on the country at 100 percent, he said. The secondary tariffs would place monetary sanctions on countries that trade with Russia.
The president made the announcement during a meeting with Mark Rutte, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Rutte has been coordinating European efforts to send more weapons to Ukraine to defend itself against Russian invasion. Under the arrangement, NATO would buy American weapons and pass them on to Kyiv. The president said the U.S. will send billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine through NATO allies in this way.
“We are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them,” Trump said.
Ukraine will get massive numbers of missiles, air defense systems, and ammunition through the deal, according to Rutte, who said Russian President Vladimir Putin should reconsider peace negotiations.
Trump’s threat of 100 percent tariffs differs from a new bipartisan sanctions package in the Senate that targets Russia. The president openly cast doubt on whether he will approve the sanctions bill.
“I’m not sure we need it,” Trump said. “It could be very useful, we will have to see.”
The legislation, backed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, calls for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy oil, gas, uranium, and other exports from Russia. Senate Majority Leader John Thune was scheduled to meet with Trump later Monday to discuss the measure.