Trump asks EU to "impose 100%% tariffs on China and India"

As a pretext of buying Russian crude

The United States is preparing trade talks with India this week

It was reported that President Trump asked the European Union (EU) to impose tariffs of up to 100% on China and India, which are buying Russian crude oil, in order to pressure Russia.

On the 10th (local time), foreign media including the Financial Times reported that a source related to the meeting said President Trump made the remark at a meeting in Washington the previous day with senior U.S. and EU officials. The EU was said to have indicated it was prepared to impose tariffs on China and India.

The United States raised the total tariff rate to 50% by imposing a 25% punitive tariff on imports from India, citing India's purchase of Russian oil. India has argued that the U.S. and the EU are also trading with Russia and called "these tariffs unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable."

According to European Commission data, bilateral trade between the EU and Russia in 2024 amounted to 67.5 billion euros (about 112 trillion won), and services trade in 2023 was 17.2 billion euros.

According to CNBC, bilateral trade between India and Russia reached a record high of 68.7 billion dollars as of March this year, about 5.8 times the pre-pandemic trade volume of 10.1 billion dollars.

China, the largest buyer of Russian oil, struck a tariff truce with the United States, lowered tariffs on its products to 30%, and has so far been exempted from secondary tariffs.

Trump's proposal came after last month's meeting in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Ukraine failed.

Meanwhile, Putin appeared to have strengthened ties through meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation last week.

Meanwhile, President Trump said he has nevertheless resumed trade negotiations with India to remove trade barriers. He called Prime Minister Modi a "very good friend" and expressed confidence that "there will be no difficulty in reaching a successful conclusion."

Guest reporter Kim Jeong-ah kja@hankyung.com