National Defense

Trump Threatens Russia With Tariffs Over Ukraine War

Trump White House Archives/Creative Commons/Flickr

President Donald Trump threatened to levy “severe” tariffs on Russia on Monday if it does not make peace with Ukraine in the coming weeks while meeting with NATO Secretary Mark Rutte.

If Russian President Vladimir Putin does not make a peace deal with Ukraine within 50 days, Trump said the U.S. would institute a 100% tariff on Russian goods. Trump also announced he would send more weapons to Ukraine through NATO, citing frustrations with Putin.

Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats in Congress are also pursuing a bill that would allow Trump to levy 500% tariffs against Russian uranium, gas and oil as new economic sanctions against Moscow.

“We are very unhappy, I am, with Russia,” Trump told reporters Monday during the meeting. “It wasn’t my war, it was Biden’s war. I’m trying to get you out of it. We want to see it end, and I’m disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have a deal two months ago.”

Trump’s announcement indicates a potential major pivot in the administration’s foreign policy on the Russia-Ukraine war, as the president previously attempted to pursue peace while criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his own initial reticence to a deal. In early July, the administration paused Patriot missile defense system shipments to Ukraine pending a U.S. stockpile review, but Trump reversed the decision just days later.

The U.S. sent over $66.9 billion worth of weapons systems to Ukraine between the start of the war in 2022 and March 2025, according to the State Department.

The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.