President Donald Trump has unveiled a new strategy for the Ukraine war: punish Russia by economically hurting its most powerful friends. The plan involves a joint US-EU effort to impose staggering 100% tariffs on all goods from India and China, a move designed to make their support for Vladimir Putin’s regime prohibitively expensive. This approach was discussed with the EU’s top sanctions official in Washington.
This pivot to targeting third-party countries comes from a place of deep frustration with the lack of progress in peace negotiations. With Russia escalating its attacks, the White House is searching for a more potent form of leverage. A US official confirmed the administration’s readiness to act but stressed that it would only do so in lockstep with its European allies.
The focus on India and China is a direct reaction to their strengthening relationship with Moscow, which has helped insulate the Russian economy from Western sanctions. The US has already fired a warning shot by increasing tariffs on Indian imports to 50% over its oil trade. This new proposal aims to deliver a much more decisive economic blow.
This entire strategy, however, could be derailed by the US Supreme Court. A landmark case will soon decide whether the president has the legal authority to implement such tariffs. A loss would be a major setback, forcing the government to refund tens of billions of dollars and stripping the president of a key foreign policy tool.
