Besent: If Europe Does Not Act First, the US Will Not Impose Tariffs on Russian Oil Imports from China
US Treasury Secretary Besent stated on Monday, September 15, that the Trump administration would not unilaterally impose new tariffs on Chinese goods because of China's purchase of Russian oil, unless European countries take the lead in imposing high tariffs on China and India.
Besent emphasized during an interview with Reuters and Bloomberg that European countries must play a greater role in cutting off Russian oil revenues and pushing for the end of the war in Ukraine.
When asked whether the US would impose tariffs related to Russian oil on Chinese goods after Trump had already imposed a 25% tariff on Indian imports, Besent said, "We expect Europeans to take their responsibilities now. Without the participation of Europe, we will not act alone."
Besent revealed that during his meeting in Madrid with Chinese officials on trade and TikTok issues, he pointed out that the US had already imposed tariffs on Indian goods, and Trump had consistently urged European countries to impose tariffs of 50% to 100% on China and India to cut off Russia's oil revenue.
He said the Chinese side's response was that oil purchases were "a matter of sovereignty".
Besent criticized that some European countries are still buying Russian oil, while others import petroleum products refined from Russian oil purchased by India at discounted prices, effectively funding the "war happening in their own backyard".
Besent said, "I guarantee that if Europe imposes substantial secondary tariffs on Russian oil buyers, the war will end within 60 to 90 days, as this will cut off Moscow's main source of income."
The US Treasury Secretary also said that the tariff measures taken by the US against India for purchasing Russian oil have brought "significant progress" in negotiations with India. Recently, Trump and Indian Prime Minister Modi have softened their rhetoric, and India and the US will hold another round of talks on Tuesday.
Besent added that the US is willing to cooperate with European countries to consider more stringent sanctions against Russian companies, including oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, and to explore more ways to utilize the frozen Russian sovereign assets since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
He pointed out that this could start by seizing a small portion of the $30 billion in frozen assets or placing them in a special purpose vehicle as collateral for loans to Ukraine.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1843382617853956/
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