US President Donald Trump warned Wednesday that more punishment was coming for countries buying Russian energy products after slapping a 25% tariff on India that is supposed to go into effect Thursday.
“You’re going to see a lot more. So this is a taste,” he said in the Oval Office. “You’re going to see a lot more. You’re going to see so much secondary sanctions.”
The move is part of Trump’s high-stakes effort to cripple Russia’s economy over its war in Ukraine. He had set a Friday deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to make peace before imposing that economic punishment.
Previous rounds of US sanctions, including under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, knocked Russia’s economy but have not stopped Putin’s war machine.
The strategy marks an escalation in Trump’s use of tariffs, his signature second-term weapon. He has previously used them to pursue a sprawling agenda, from protecting US manufacturing to pressuring foreign governments on policy.
