US President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to impose a secondary 100%&nbsp; tariff on countries that import oil, gas and uranium from Russia, saying he was &ldquo;very unhappy&rdquo; with Moscow&rsquo;s intransigence in finding an end to the war with Ukraine. 
He gave a 50-day deadline for the punitive tariff to take effect if Russia did not make a peace deal with Ukraine, while speaking to reporters with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House. 
&ldquo;We're very, very unhappy with them, and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs. If we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100%, you'd call them secondary tariffs&rdquo;, he said.&nbsp;
The tariff is directed against Russia, but if it comes into force, India, which is racing to finalise a bilateral trade agreement with the US, would be a collateral victim of the Washington-Moscow standoff. 
If China and India can be forced to stop buying energy from Russia, Washington expects it would impact Moscow&rsquo;s war machine by squeezing the funds available to it. It could also motivate China, in particular, to put pressure on Russia to make a peace deal, in the US reckoning. 
Trump said he supported a proposed bill that would impose a 500 per cent tariff on countries buying energy products from Russia. 
But, he said, &ldquo;I'm not sure we need it&rdquo; since he can impose the punitive tariff by himself. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham proposed the 500 per cent bill, which has 85 co-sponsors, including many Democrats. 
Trump added, &ldquo;It's certainly good that they're doing it.&rdquo; Graham held off introducing the bill till he got a go-ahead from Trump. 
Graham is working with House Speaker Mike Johnson, and it &ldquo;is probably going to pass very easily&rdquo; with some &ldquo;little tweaks&rdquo;, Trump said. &ldquo;They've actually crafted a pretty good piece of legislation,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;
Because of the tariff-imposing powers he has exercised, he said he does not need legislation &ldquo;because I don't want them to waste their time.&rdquo; 
India has defended the oil purchase from Russia because it is needed for the development of the country, as well as helping stabilise international oil prices. India&rsquo;s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in December that Russia's oil "is not necessarily cheap.&rdquo; 
Given the tight oil market, he said, &ldquo;India did the entire world a favour by buying Russian oil because if we had not done so, the global oil prices would have skyrocketed to $200 a barrel.&nbsp;
Trump also said he would impose &ldquo;very severe tariffs&rdquo; on Russia. Expressing his anger at Russia&rsquo;s President Vladimir Putin, he said, &ldquo;My conversations with him are very pleasant, and then the missiles go off at night.&rdquo; 
&ldquo;I felt we had a deal about four times&Prime; between Russia and Ukraine, "but it just kept going on and on&rdquo;, said Trump, who tried to broker a deal. He also announced that the US will send Patriot missiles and other arms to Ukraine.&nbsp;
&mdash;IANS

Trump warns tariffs on Russian energy buyers

Trump warns 100% tariffs on countries buying energy from Russia amid Ukraine war deadlock

Trump Warns 100% Tariff on Russian Oil Buyers

Trump warns 100% tariffs on countries buying energy from Russia amid Ukraine war deadlock

July 15, 2025 | 09:35 IST