Washington, September 13: US President Donald Trump has urged NATO allies to impose sweeping tariffs on China and halt purchases of Russian oil, arguing that coordinated economic pressure is the only way to bring an end to the Ukraine war.
In a letter sent to member nations on Saturday, Trump pressed NATO states to join Washington in sanctioning Moscow and cutting off energy imports. “I am ready to impose major sanctions on Russia when all NATO nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO nations stop buying oil from Russia,” he wrote in a social media post.
The president went further, demanding punitive tariffs on Beijing. “This, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% tariffs on China, to be fully withdrawn after the war with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ending this deadly, but ridiculous, war,” Trump said.
His appeal comes as some NATO members remain among Russia’s oil customers. Turkiye has emerged as the third-largest buyer, after China and India, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Hungary and Slovakia, both part of the 32-member alliance, also continue purchases.
The letter follows Trump’s repeated threats of imposing secondary sanctions on countries that keep buying Russian oil, including top importers China and India. Last month, Washington levied an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods over its energy trade with Moscow, though similar measures against Beijing have not been announced.
The timing of Trump’s push coincides with heightened tensions in Eastern Europe. Multiple Russian drones recently entered Polish airspace, an incident NATO described as escalatory since it directly affected a member state.
Trump has previously framed economic penalties as his central tool for pressuring both Moscow and its trading partners, but Saturday’s call marked his clearest demand yet for collective NATO action targeting China as part of the Ukraine conflict strategy.
