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.
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.
These “secondary tariffs,” however, are being used to force third-party nations into a choice: sever ties with a US adversary or risk further penalties.
