Is it possible for the EU and NATO to impose tariffs on China and India as Trump desires?

In an effort to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the war in Ukraine, US President Donald Trump has urged NATO and EU members to impose tariffs of up to 100% on China and India.Trump, who previously pledged to end the conflict on “day one” of becoming president, made his demand during a meeting between United States and European Union officials last Tuesday. The move is seen as a way to try to expedite a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv.In a letter posted on his Truth Social account on September 13, Trump said he was “ready to do major sanctions on Russia” once NATO had “agreed … to do the same thing”. He also claimed that elevated tariffs on China would weaken Beijing’s “control” over Russia.China and India buy Russia’s oil, which is helping to keep the Russian economy afloat.

As the largest buyer of Russian energy, China imported 109 million tonnes of crude oil last year, representing roughly 20 percent of its total energy imports, according to Chinese customs data. India, by contrast, imported 88 million tonnes of Russian oil in 2024, or about 35 percent of its imports.To sidestep the issue, Trump on Saturday asked NATO to impose 50-100 percent tariffs on China to weaken Beijing’s economic grip over Russia. In the letter Trump posted on Saturday, he claimed the halt on Russian energy purchases, combined with heavy tariffs on China, would be of “great help” in ending the conflict.Europe’s reliance on Russian energy has fallen since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. At the time, the EU imported 45 percent of its natural gas from Russia. That is expected to fall to just 13 percent this year. But Trump wants Europe to do more.