Trump threatens Russia with 100% tariffs if there is no agreement on Ukraine in 50 days

Washington.- The president of the United States, Donald Trump, threatened this Monday the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, with imposing indirect tariffs of around 100% on his country if a peace agreement in Ukraine is not reached within 50 days.

The US leader made these statements at the start of a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House.

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“One of the reasons you (Rutte) are here today is because I am very unhappy with Russia,” Trump expressed, who in recent weeks has expressed growing frustration with Putin’s refusal to stop the bombings of Ukraine.

“We are going to apply very severe tariffs if we don’t reach an agreement in 50 days. Tariffs of approximately 100%, which we would call secondary tariffs,” he declared. Secondary tariffs are levies imposed on third countries or entities that trade with a sanctioned nation, in this case Russia. During the meeting with Rutte, Trump is also expected to finalize the shipment to Ukraine of sophisticated Patriot anti-missile systems which, according to the American president, would be paid for by the European Union (EU). Trump’s words mark a change of tone with Putin, whom he had tried to get closer to when he assumed power on January 20th, with the aim of reaching an agreement to end the war in Ukraine. When the U.S. president announced in April a battery of sanctions for much of the world, he excluded Russia, justifying that many financial sanctions already weigh on that country. The turning point occurred on July 3rd during a call between both leaders in which Putin informed Trump that he would not give up on his objectives in Ukraine, which angered the American president. During the last few weeks, Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose new sanctions on Russia if there is no progress in an agreement, but had not detailed a specific tariff figure until now.