Trump will not impose tariffs on China over Russian oil until Europe does the same – Bessent

Administration of the President of the United States Donald Trump will not impose additional duties on Chinese goods to stop Beijing from buying Russian oil unless European countries establish their own high tariffs on Chinese products. This was stated by the US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent in an interview with Reuters and Bloomberg.

According to the official, European countries should play a more active role in reducing Moscow's oil revenues and ending the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Bessent was asked whether Washington would impose tariffs on Chinese goods related to Russian oil after Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on imports from India (bringing the total to 50%).

"We expect the Europeans to do their share now, and we are not moving forward without the Europeans," the minister said.

• On September 13, 2025, the US president published "a letter sent to all NATO countries and the world", in which he stated that he was ready to impose "serious sanctions" against Russia when all the countries of the Alliance start doing the same and stop buying Russian oil.
• In addition, the US leader believes that NATO as a group should impose tariffs of 50-100% against China, which can be canceled only after the end of Russia's war against Ukraine.
• On September 15, secretary Rubio said that Trump wants European countries to impose such sanctions on Russia, what they expect from the United States itself.