US Calls on G7 to Impose ‘Meaningful’ Tariffs on China, India Over Russian Oil Purchases
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Finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7), including the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada, held a video conference on Sept. 12 to discuss a U.S. call to impose “meaningful tariffs” on China and India for purchasing Russian oil, in an attempt to pressure Russia to end its war against Ukraine.
The ministers also met to weigh in on further sanctions on Russia and a possible tariff increase on countries “enabling” Russian’s war against Ukraine, according to a statement by Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The Trump administration earlier in the week urged the European Union to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on China and India, before extending the call to G7 and NATO allies.
Trump’s Call to NATO
On Sept. 13, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media that he is ready to impose “major sanctions” on Russia when all NATO countries agree to do the same thing and stop buying oil from Moscow.Trump said that the 50 percent to 100 percent tariffs on China will also be of “great help in ending this deadly, but ridiculous war.”
The Trump administration has already imposed an additional 25 percent tariff on imported goods from India to pressure New Delhi to stop its purchases of discounted Russian crude oil, bringing total punitive duties on Indian goods to 50 percent, cooling relations between the two countries.
Most G7 countries are also members of NATO, and therefore have an obligation to align their security and geopolitical actions in dealing with Russia, Davy J. Wong told The Epoch Times.
However, he said that some Eastern European members, such as Hungary, Turkey, and Slovakia “have reservations about, or have difficulty stopping purchases of Russian oil due to energy dependence, domestic politics, or strategic considerations.”
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If most NATO members cooperate, “it would cut off one of Russia’s main sources of revenue, which would put substantial pressure on Moscow,” Wong said.
Trump’s call is a significant directional signal of policy, Wong noted, “but their effectiveness depends on whether the G7 and NATO members are willing to bear the costs based on their domestic political and economic considerations.”
As to what percentage would meet the definition of “meaningful tariffs,” Wong said that “if the G7/EU truly act together, tariffs of around 50–100 percent would have a significant impact on some high-volume Indian exports and certain Chinese exports.”
Wong pointed out that “China and India currently have their own trump cards: cost, discounts, the ability to find alternative suppliers, and political autonomy. However, the suggested sanctions or pressure could force China and India to make some compromises or transitions.”
“Currently, the EU and other major industrial nations still have a certain degree of trade cooperation with China.”
The United States would need to convince at least one major ally, such as the UK or Germany, to do the same. “Only then would the situation change,” he said.
Yeh said it shows that Putin has no intention to stop the war, and “maybe in a month or two, the EU may really lose patience with Moscow.”
“So at that time, if the United States continues to exert pressure, there may be a high possibility of increasing secondary tariffs on China and India,” he said.
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India’s Considerations
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China, earlier this month, which was his first visit to China in seven years. During the visit, he had bilateral meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, Modi didn’t attend the military parade in Beijing.India’s diplomatic policy tends not to be overly tied to any one country, according to Wong. “The Indian government will consider factors such as energy prices for the public, exporter interests, and industrial costs,” he said. “It is likely to react to external sanctions or tariffs, but it is also unwilling to completely sever ties with Russia and China.”
Yeh predicts that India will eventually choose to side with the United States because, strategically, it needs to compete with China for regional domination and border disputes. “Therefore, within the larger global strategic landscape, it will eventually turn to the United States.”
Yeh said that Modi’s absence from the military parade in Beijing indicates that “he does not completely trust China.”
Wong added that the call on imposing extra tariffs shows that the Trump administration’s foreign policy emphasizes deterrence, and their primary targets are communist China and Putin’s Russia.
“They view Russia as the greatest direct threat to Ukraine and European security, while China is seen as a long-term rival challenging US dominance in global technology, economy, and geopolitics,” he said.
