© Jacquelyn Martin / APPresident Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose "severe" tariffs of up to 100% on Russia's trading partners unless a deal is reached to end the Ukraine conflict within 50 days.
Trump issued the warning on Monday during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.
"We're very, very unhappy - I am - with [Russia], and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in about 50 days," he stated.
Trump blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for dragging Washington into the conflict, saying the US had spent approximately $350 billion on aid for Ukraine.
The US president also mentioned a congressional bill that would impose tougher sanctions on Russia, saying, "I'm not sure we need it, but it's good they're doing it... could be very useful." A Senate vote is expected next week.
He noted that, if there was no progress on Ukraine, slapping Russia with secondary US tariffs would not require congressional approval.
Secondary tariffs are sometimes introduced on countries that do business with a sanctioned country.
Trump also announced that the US will send weapons to Ukraine through NATO, which would handle both payment and distribution.
"We've made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they're going to be paying for them," he said.
Russia has repeatedly denounced the West for supplying Ukraine with weapons, warning that this only serves to prolong the conflict and makes no impact on its outcome.
The Russian stock market soared on Trump's remarks, with the main index jumping nearly 3%, according to data from the Moscow Exchange.
Comment: Every economic weapon thrown at Russia has only made her stronger. It is the height of folly to continue on this path. BTW, the U.S. imports uranium from Russia. Will it sanction itself? And secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil, will only result in skyrocketing prices, which Trump is keen to avoid.
So either the admin will create so many carve-outs to avoid economic catastrophe that the tariffs become meaningless, or this is just bluff for the home crowd. Stay tuned . . . .