US President Donald Trump has said he was “pissed off” at Russian President Vladimir Putin and would impose secondary tariffs of 25 per cent to 50 per cent on buyers of Russian oil if he felt Moscow was blocking his efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump told NBC News on March 30 he was angry after Putin had recently criticised the credibility of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s leadership, NBC News reported, citing a telephone interview earlier on March 30.
The US President said he could impose the new trade measures within a month, in comments that reflected his growing frustration about the lack of movement on a ceasefire in the three-year conflict that started in February 2022.
“If Russia and I are unable to make a deal on stopping the bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s fault … I am going to put secondary tariffs on oil, on all oil coming out of Russia,” Trump said.
“That would be, that if you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States,” Trump said. “There will be a 25 per cent tariff on all oil, a 25 to 50-point tariff on all oil.”
There was no immediate reaction from Moscow. Russia has called numerous Western sanctions and restrictions “illegal” and designed for the West to take economic advantage in its rivalry with Russia.
Trump, who spent the March 29-30 at his estate in Palm Beach, Florida, told NBC News he planned to speak with Putin in the coming days.
The two leaders have had two publicly announced telephone calls in recent months but may have had more contacts, the Kremlin said in video footage recently.
Since taking office in January, Trump has focused heavily on ending what he called a “ridiculous” war in Ukraine.
Putin on March 28 suggested Ukraine could be placed under a form of temporary administration to allow for new elections that could push out Zelensky.
Trump himself has previously called for new elections in Ukraine and denounced Zelensky as a dictator.
The US President’s latest comments followed a day of meetings and golf with Finnish President Alexander Stubb on March 29, during Stubb’s surprise visit to Florida.
Stubb’s office on March 30 said he had told Trump that a deadline needed to be set for establishing a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire to make it happen and suggested April 20, since Trump would have been in office then for three months.
US officials have been separately pushing Kyiv to accept a critical minerals agreement, a summary of which suggested Washington was demanding all Ukraine’s natural resources income for years.
Zelensky has said Kyiv’s lawyers needed to review the draft before he could say more about the US offer.
On March 25, Trump imposed what he called a 25 per cent secondary tariff on US imports from any country buying oil or gas from Venezuela.
His remarks on March 30 suggested he could take similar action against US imports from countries that bought oil from Russia, a move that could hit China and India particularly hard.
Trump said Putin knew he was angry with him but added he had “a very good relationship with him” and “the anger dissipates quickly … if he does the right thing”.
The US President’s comments came on the same day he was not joking about seeking a third presidential term, which is barred by the US Constitution but added that it was too early to think about doing so.
Trump has made vague allusions to seeking a third one but addressed it directly in the NBC News interview.
“No, I’m not joking. I’m not joking,” he said, adding that “it is far too early to think about it”.
“There are, there are methods which you could do it, as you know,” he said. He declined to elaborate on any specific methods.
US presidents are limited to two four-year terms, consecutive or not, according to the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution.
