teleSUR/ JF
July 14, 2025
The U.S. president made the announcement at the start of a meeting with NATO Secretary Rutte.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with indirect tariffs of about 100% on his country if a peace agreement in Ukraine is not reached within 50 days.
The Republican politician made the remarks at the start of a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the White House’s Oval Office in Washington, D.C.
“One of the reasons you’re here today is because I’m very unhappy with Russia,” Trump said, expressing growing frustration in recent weeks over Putin’s refusal to halt airstrikes on Ukraine.
“We’re going to impose very severe tariffs if we don’t reach a deal in 50 days. Tariffs of approximately 100%, what we would call secondary tariffs,” the U.S. president said.
NATO Secretary General Rutte: “You want Ukraine [to have] what it needs … but you want the Europeans to pay for it — which is totally logical.” pic.twitter.com/TfDDyVMccI
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 14, 2025
Secondary tariffs are duties imposed on third-party countries or entities that trade with a sanctioned nation. Trump’s remarks signal a shift in tone toward Putin. When he took office on Jan. 20, he had initially sought to engage with the Russian president in hopes of brokering a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
When Trump announced a wide-ranging package of global sanctions in April, he excluded Russia, arguing that the country was already subject to significant financial penalties. A turning point came on July 3, during a phone call between the two leaders, when Putin informed Trump that he would not abandon his objectives in Ukraine — a move that reportedly enraged the U.S. president.
In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia if no progress is made toward a peace agreement, but until now, he had not specified a tariff figure.
#FromTheSouth News Bits | Trade War: United States President Donald Trump announced a sweeping new round of tariffs targeting 14 developing countries, escalating his administration’s “reciprocal trade” strategy. pic.twitter.com/XpglxMXzei
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) July 10, 2025
We remind our readers that publication of articles on our site does not mean that we agree with what is written. Our policy is to publish anything which we consider of interest, so as to assist our readers in forming their opinions. Sometimes we even publish articles with which we totally disagree, since we believe it is important for our readers to be informed on as wide a spectrum of views as possible.