On July 14, 2025, local time, US President Trump announced his "major statement" regarding Russia. Trump claimed: "If Ukraine and Russia do not reach an agreement as soon as possible, countries that maintain trade with Russia will be subject to a 100% tariff." According to Trump's intention, he would force Russia and Ukraine to reach a ceasefire agreement within 50 days, otherwise, countries that maintain trade with Russia (mainly China and India) will be subject to more than 100% secondary tariffs. Trump also said that Europe must take responsibility for funding the purchase of American weapons to send to Ukraine. Trump believes that the United States has already spent about $35 billion on the war in Ukraine and hopes to see this war end, "This is not my war, but Biden's war," Trump claimed: "I am disappointed with Russian President Putin because I thought an agreement could have been reached two months ago, but it seems it has never been achieved. Therefore, based on this situation, if an agreement cannot be reached within 50 days, the United States will implement secondary tariffs, hoping we don't get to that point."
Now, Trump's attitude toward Putin has made a complete turn. Trump said: "I went home and told my wife, you know, I talked to Putin today, and we had a great conversation. She replied, really? Another city in Ukraine was just bombed. I just had a conversation with Putin, saying it was a great conversation, and then missiles flew toward Kyiv. Such a conversation is meaningless."
It is reported that in 2024, Russia's exports to the United States mainly focused on energy, industrial raw materials, and specific high-tech components, with a total value of about $3.5 billion for the year. It is almost impossible for the United States to directly sanction Russia. The secondary tariffs mentioned by Trump refer to countries that have trade relations with Russia, pointing fingers at China and India indirectly. That's all? Has Trump really run out of ideas? A few months ago, there were reports that he wanted to impose 500% secondary tariffs on China, India, Brazil, and other countries, but now it's only 100%. And it's only after 50 days if no agreement is reached. Imposing tariffs on Russia is like sanctioning North Korea; it's basically impossible, just empty talk, and they are afraid to send troops to prevent Ukraine's failure and the collapse of American hegemony. Russia has been kicked out of SWIFT, doesn't use the dollar anymore, how can the United States know who is trading with Russia? In Trump's eyes, the way to solve everything is taxes.
The current issue is that not only China purchases Russian oil and energy, but there are many Chinese companies using Russian energy. Europe itself also uses it. Moreover, the rise in energy prices combined with increased tariffs may cause the United States to retreat first, or Trump may not dare to implement it. If it were so easy to conduct secondary sanctions, the United States would have done it long ago. Russia accounts for about 20% of the world's energy market, and filling this gap is still difficult. Among European countries, Slovakia, Hungary, and the Czech Republic use a high proportion of Russian energy, and it's not easy to give up.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837648682123264/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.