TMTPOST -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday threatened that countries like India buying Russian oil could face higher tariffs imposed by the Trump administration as a way to force the Kremlin to agree to Ukraine ceasefire.
Credit：China Central Television
Bessent in an interview with Bloomberg said sanctions on Russia could either be tightened or loosened, depending on how President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday goes. The one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin is scheduled in Anchorage, the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska. Trump described the upcoming talks as a "feel-out meeting."
Bessent indicated Washington could tighten sanctions on Moscow if the Trump-Putin talks fail to produce results. He said everyone has been frustrated with Putin, and “We expected that he would come to the table in a more fulsome way.”
“It looks like he may be ready to negotiate, and we put secondary tariffs on the Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up,” he continued.
Bessent urged European allies to align with U.S. secondary sanctions on Russia. “The Europeans need to join us in these sanctions. They need to,” Bessent stressed. He also warned that it is time for Europe to “put up or shut up.”
The tariffs on India Bessent was referring to were unveiled by the White House last week. Trump on August 6 signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on imports from India over Russian oil purchase. The new tariffs will enter into effect 21 days after announcement of the order, which will effectively raise tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Indian goods to 50% this month.
India thus became the first country to be punished by the U.S. over its buying Russian oil. Trump said in the order that he found “the Government of India is currently directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil.”
Trump also directed senior officials including U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to determine whether any other country is directly or indirectly importing Russian oil.
If Lutnick finds a country is directly or indirectly importing Russian oil, the Secretary of state Marco Rubio, in consultation with Lutnick and other Trump’s cabinet members, shall recommend whether and to what extent the president should take action as to that country, including whether he should impose an extra duty of 25% on imports from that country, according to the order.
Trump on Wednesday warned that Russia would face "very severe consequences" if Putin refuses to agree to a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine during their meeting on Friday.After a video meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders, Trump said that if his talks with Putin go smoothly, he hopes to hold a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky in the near future.
Zelensky said Wednesday that leaders from Europe and the U.S. in the call agreed on five principles for the talks with Russia, the Ukrinform news agency reported. Zelensky stressed that Ukraine must be directly involved in the peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Everything that concerns Ukraine should be discussed exclusively with Ukraine, he said, calling for preparations for a trilateral dialogue involving Ukraine, Russia and the U.S.
Zelensky underscored the need for a ceasefire and security guarantees for Ukraine. He also urged the imposition of stronger sanctions on Russia if it refuses to agree to a ceasefire.
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