Trump to hold off hiking China tariffs over Russia oil purchases
[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump said he will hold off on raising tariffs on Chinese goods over the country’s purchases of Russian oil, citing progress he said was made with Russian President Vladimir Putin towards ending the war in Ukraine.
“Because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that,” Trump said on Friday (Aug 15) in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity after his summit with Putin. “Now, I may have to think about it in two weeks or three weeks or something, but we don’t have to think about that right now.”
Trump earlier this month threatened buyers of Russian energy with additional tariffs as a means of pressuring Putin into peace talks with Ukraine. The US president already doubled duties on Indian products to 50 per cent starting Aug 27 over its purchases of oil from Moscow.
Raising tariffs on China, though, would risk breaking a trade truce that Trump on Monday agreed to extend for another 90 days. That agreement saw Washington and Beijing lower duties on each others’ goods that reached astronomical levels in the spring, which spooked global markets.
China has defended its imports of Russian oil as lawful and necessary for its energy security.
Trump fell short of reaching a ceasefire deal with Putin during their meeting in Alaska, but said they agreed on many points and urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to make a deal with the leader who launched an unprovoked invasion of his country in 2022.
“I think, you know, the meeting went very well,” Trump said on Fox News. BLOOMBERG
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