NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he is ready to impose the “second phase” of sanctions against Russia.
“Yeah, I am,” Trump said outside the White House in response to a question if he was prepared to impose additional sanctions on Russia.
Trump’s comment came shortly after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the Russian economy will “collapse” if Washington and the European Union impose more secondary sanctions on countries that buy crude oil from Moscow.
Bessent, in an interview to NBC News, said that President Trump and Vice President J D Vance had a very productive call with President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who followed up with a call with him on Friday and they discussed what the US and European Union (EU) could do to put more pressure on Russia.
The Trump administration has imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil on top of the 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs announced earlier, bringing the total duties imposed on New Delhi to 50 per cent, with effect from August 27.
Last week, Trump said he put secondary sanctions on India for its purchases of Russian oil, “the largest purchaser outside of China”, and indicated that he hasn’t done “phase two or phase three yet”.
Several of the Trump administration's officials, including Bessent and trade advisor Peter Navarro, have said that India’s purchases of Russian oil are financing the Russian war effort in Ukraine.
India has called the tariffs imposed by the US “unjustified and unreasonable”.
Defending its purchase of Russian crude oil, India has been maintaining that its energy procurement is driven by national interest and market dynamics.