Bid To Turn Up Heat On Russia To End War: Donald Trump asks EU to levy 100% tariffs on India, China

Washington: US President Donald Trump has asked the European Union to hit India and China with tariffs of up to 100% over the countries' Russia oil purchases, in a move aimed at turning up the heat on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. Trump made the request when he was called into a meeting with senior US and EU officials in Washington on Tuesday.

Washington was also prepared to "mirror" any tariffs imposed by Europe on the two countries, reports said. The White House did not immediately make any comments. The US has imposed a punitive 25% tariff on imports from India over New Delhi's purchases of Russian oil, taking the total duties to as high as 50%. India has said the tariffs are "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable," while calling out the US and the EU's trade with Russia.

The EU’s bilateral trade with Russia stood at 67.5 billion euros ($78.1 billion) in 2024, while its services trade in 2023 was at 17.2 billion euros, according to European Commission data. Data from the Indian embassy in Moscow showed bilateral trade between New India and Russia reached a record $68.7 billion for the year ended March 2025, nearly 5.8 times higher than the pre-pandemic trade of $10.1 billion.