President Donald Trump has once again thrust himself into the center of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calling for a dramatic escalation in economic pressure on both Russia and its key trading partners. On September 13, 2025, Trump took to his social media platform, urging all NATO and European Union member states to halt purchases of Russian oil and slap tariffs of up to 100% on China and India over their continued imports of Russian petroleum. The move, he argued, would force Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and bring about a swifter end to the war in Ukraine.
Trump’s demands came during a high-stakes meeting between United States and European Union officials, a setting that underscored the urgency with which the U.S. administration is now seeking to ratchet up pressure on Moscow. According to Financial Times and other outlets, the U.S. president’s call was not just a rhetorical flourish. In a letter posted on his Truth Social account, Trump declared, “I am ready to do major sanctions on Russia once NATO has agreed to do the same thing.” He doubled down on his position, stating that a halt on Russian energy purchases, combined with heavy tariffs on China, would be “of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR.”
But why target China and India? The answer lies in the numbers. As Al Jazeera and BBC have reported, China imported 109 million tonnes of Russian crude oil in 2024, amounting to roughly 20% of its total energy imports. India, for its part, imported 88 million tonnes in the same year, making up about 35% of its oil imports. These purchases have kept the Russian economy afloat, providing Moscow with vital revenues even as Western nations have tried to squeeze its finances.
Since 2023, NATO member Turkey has been the third-largest buyer of Russian oil, trailing only China and India. Other NATO members, including Hungary and Slovakia, have also continued to purchase Russian oil, despite mounting pressure from Washington. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, these purchases are a persistent thorn in the side of Western efforts to isolate Russia economically.
Trump has already taken steps to penalize countries buying Russian oil. Earlier this year, he imposed a 25% import tax on goods from India, specifically citing its energy purchases from Moscow. However, he has so far refrained from imposing similar tariffs on China, citing the need to maintain a delicate trade truce with Beijing. That could change, he warned, if China continues to prop up Russia’s war effort through its energy imports.
Trump’s proposed tariffs are nothing if not aggressive. He has floated the idea of tariffs on China ranging from 50% to 100%, a move that would dwarf the already significant 25% tariffs slapped on Indian goods. Earlier in 2025, Trump imposed new tariffs totaling 145% on Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to respond with 125% import taxes on American products. Those sky-high rates functioned as a near-total blockade on trade between the world’s two largest economies, sparking fears of a global economic slowdown. In order to get trade talks back on track, both sides eventually agreed to lower tariffs—America to 30% and China to 10%—but the threat of another tariff war looms large.
The president’s demands come at a time of heightened military tension in Eastern Europe. On September 10, 2025, more than a dozen Russian drones entered Polish airspace—an act that Poland, a NATO member, called deliberate. Trump, however, downplayed the incident, suggesting the incursion “could have been a mistake.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio took a firmer line, calling the drone incident “unacceptable and unfortunate and dangerous,” while adding that NATO’s response so far had been “appropriate.” The question of whether the drones were intentionally sent to Poland remains unresolved, but the episode has only added fuel to the fire of transatlantic anxiety over Russian aggression.
France and Germany have responded by joining a new NATO mission to bolster the alliance’s eastern flank, moving military assets eastward in a bid to deter further Russian provocations. Meanwhile, at an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting, acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea declared, “America will defend every inch of NATO territory,” adding that the drone incursions—whether intentional or not—“show immense disrespect for good-faith U.S. efforts to bring an end to this conflict.”
Trump’s push for allied tariffs against China and Russia comes at a time when his own legal authority to impose such measures is being challenged at home. Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the president has broad powers to impose tariffs in the name of national security. But in May, a U.S. trade court ruled that Trump’s recent tariffs “exceed any authority granted to the president.” An appeals court upheld that ruling in August, and the case is now headed to the Supreme Court, with a decision expected in November. The outcome could have profound implications for Trump’s ability to unilaterally escalate his trade war strategy.
The European Union, for its part, faces its own set of dilemmas. In 2024, the bloc’s trade deficit with China was a staggering 305.8 billion euros ($359 billion), making China its largest import partner. European imports from China are dominated by consumer electronics, heavy manufacturing equipment, and apparel—goods that are deeply woven into the continent’s supply chains. Imposing tariffs of 50% to 100% would disrupt manufacturing, raise production costs, and drive up consumer prices across the EU. That’s why, as Financial Times and Reuters have noted, European leaders are wary of adopting unilateral punitive tariffs, even as some member states have publicly backed more targeted measures against China.
Notably, Europe’s reliance on Russian energy has dropped sharply since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Back then, the EU imported 45% of its natural gas from Russia, but that figure is expected to fall to just 13% this year. Still, Trump insists that Europe must do more. In his letter, he argued, “NATO’s commitment to winning the war has been far less than 100%,” and accused some alliance members of undermining collective bargaining power by continuing to buy Russian oil.
Within hours of Trump’s pronouncement, Beijing fired back. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated, “China does not participate in wars or help to plot them,” adding that “war cannot solve problems and sanctions only complicate them.” The statement, released by China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, signaled that Beijing has little intention of bowing to Western pressure—at least for now.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is set to meet with China’s Vice Premier He Lifeng in Madrid to try to de-escalate the burgeoning trade tensions. On the India front, Trump said on September 9 that negotiations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi are ongoing, with both sides expressing optimism that a “successful conclusion” is within reach. Modi echoed this sentiment, saying, “Our teams are working to conclude these discussions at the earliest. I am also looking forward to speaking with President Trump.”
As the Russia-Ukraine war grinds on, the debate over how best to pressure Moscow—and its most important trading partners—shows no signs of abating. Whether Trump’s calls for sweeping tariffs will gain traction with America’s allies or simply spark new economic headaches remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the economic front of this conflict is heating up, and the world is watching closely.