United States President Donald Trump has asked the European Union to add tariffs of up to 100% on China and India due to their purchases of Russian oil.
The U.S. doubled India’s tariff rate from 25% to 50% in August, saying its Russian oil purchases were indirectly funding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Trump told EU officials on Tuesday to introduce these tariffs in a discussion about adding economic pressure on Russia to end its war.
“We need more pressure on Russia to come to the negotiating table. We need more sanctions,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her Wednesday State of the Union address. The EU is preparing a new sanctions package, she said.
The EU is also projected to buy around 13% of its gas from Russia in 2025, though this has fallen from 45% before Russia’s invasion began. “We are particularly looking at phasing out Russian fossil fuels faster,” said von der Leyen.
The U.S. said it would match new tariffs imposed by the EU on China and India, the Financial Times reported.
India and China are the largest buyers of Russian oil, with India importing 1.73 million barrels per day from Russia in the first seven months of 2025. India has said it does not plan to end its Russian oil purchases due to U.S. tariffs.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation security and trade conference this month in a bid to strengthen ties.
A federal appeals court ruled in August that many of Trump’s tariff policies were unlawful, and could not be imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as Trump claimed. The tariffs will remain in place until October under the ruling.
The Supreme Court will hear the administration’s appeal in November.
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