President Donald Trump on Tuesday firmed up threats he issued one day prior against Russian President Vladimir Putin and said he had exactly 10 days to enter into a peace deal or face sanctions.
“Ten days from today,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his trip back from Scotland.
“Then you know we’re going to put on tariffs and stuff,” the president continued. “And I don’t know if it’s going to affect Russia because he wants to, obviously, probably keep the war going.”
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“But we’re going to put on tariffs and the various things that you put up, it may or may not affect them, but it could,” Trump added.
Trump’s comments highlight some skepticism over whether his threat to levy 100% tariffs and secondary tariffs on third-party nations that purchase Russian oil will do much to impact Putin’s decision calculus when it comes to his war aims in Ukraine.
U.S. purchases from Moscow are already significantly reduced due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, with U.S. imports from Russia totaling just $3 billion in 2024, down 34.2% from 2023, according to government data.
The figures reportedly represent less than 1% of Russia’s total exports, but what could impact Moscow’s war efforts is the effect of tariffs targeting the $192 billion that Russia profited from foreign oil sales in 2024.
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China and India are consistently the top purchasers of Russian oil, and it is highly unlikely they are able to divert their oil needs to other markets in a 10-day time frame.
It is unclear how Trump will enforce the secondary sanctions on China and India, particularly as trade negotiations with both nations remain ongoing.
Despite talks in Stockholm this week with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his Chinese counterparts, the U.S. has not yet solidified an official trade deal with China.
The U.S. had until Aug. 12 to either extend the tariff pause or see a 145% hike on the prices of all Chinese goods bought in the U.S.
But with Trump’s latest 10-day deadline to Putin, and by extension, buyers of Russian oil, this date may have just been moved up to Aug. 8.
It remains unclear how the additional threat of 100% secondary sanctions will impact the president’s decision-making when it comes to trade with Beijing.
