Former U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed strict new trade measures on Russian oil, declaring that any country purchasing oil from Russia should be barred from doing business in the United States. “If you buy oil from Russia, you can’t do business in the United States. There will be a 25 percent tariff on all oil — possibly even as high as 50 percent,” Trump said in a recent interview.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the European Union implemented an embargo on Russian oil transported by sea. However, some EU countries, including Hungary and Slovakia, continue to import Russian oil via pipelines. Meanwhile, other NATO members like Turkey — along with nations such as China and India — have significantly increased their purchases of Russian crude.
Much of that Russian oil is refined into petrol, diesel, and jet fuel in third countries before being sold globally, including to markets in Europe and the United States. This complex supply chain has allowed Russian fossil fuels to still make their way to the West, despite official sanctions.
Trump’s remarks come amid speculation that U.S.-Russia relations may be warming. The Biden administration recently floated the idea of easing some sanctions on Moscow in exchange for a ceasefire in the Black Sea region. But that proposal has faced sharp backlash from European allies, many of whom insist that only a lasting and just peace — including accountability for Russian aggression in Ukraine — would justify restoring energy ties with Russia.
Earlier in the week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio dampened expectations of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the war. “There’s a lot of work to be done,” Rubio said, adding, “I think you have to make more progress on a technical level first.”
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