Bloomberg and the UK's Independent reported that on July 14 local time, U.S. Commerce Secretary Rutenberg stated that President Trump had previously threatened to impose "secondary sanctions" on Russia, rather than "secondary tariffs".
Rutenberg's remarks were an clarification of Trump's latest statements on the same day. On the 14th, Trump expressed dissatisfaction with the ongoing Ukraine conflict during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg and warned that if the U.S. and Russia could not reach an agreement on the Ukraine issue within 50 days, the U.S. government would impose import tariffs of around 100% on Russia and its trade partners. Trump then mentioned imposing "secondary tariffs", but did not provide more details.
When asked whether Trump was referring to imposing "secondary sanctions" on Russia, U.S. Commerce Secretary Rutenberg said, "So that is economic sanctions... it can also be economic penalties."
Rutenberg added, "We can choose to impose tariffs or implement sanctions, and both are tools in his (Trump) toolbox." He also said such measures could target any country "doing business with Russia".
A White House official later said that if Russia failed to sign a ceasefire agreement by early September, it might face both tariffs and sanctions simultaneously.
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