Trump asking EU to slap 100% tariffs on India and China raises eyebrows

Reports that US President Donald Trump asked the European Union to slap the tariffs of up to 100 % on China and India for its Russian oil purchases, which raised eyebrows on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, with Europe considered unlikely to climb to the White House request.

Trump submitted the proposal – I first mentioned before Financial times and He assured CNBC by two sources familiar with the issue – When he was called in a meeting with senior US and European Union officials in Washington on Tuesday. The FT report added that the United States was also ready for “raising”, that is, a tariff imposed by Europe on the two countries. The White House has not yet responded to CNBC for comments.

A spokesman for the European Commission told CNBC on Wednesday that he could not reveal the details of the meeting due to secrecy, noting that “the European Union has participated with all relevant global partners, including India and China, in the context of efforts to enforce sanctions.” This participation will continue. “

The committee referred to the nineteenth measures package prepared against Moscow, saying that it “added new sanctions tools that allow us to target fraud through the third countries” and that the United States was an “important partner” in Brussels’s efforts to raise pressure on the war economy in Russia.

However, it seems that European officials seem careful not to alienate China and India, and it has sparked the timing of Trump’s eyebrows because it is Washington It negotiates a commercial deal With New Delhi.

The United States has already imposed a 50 % tariff on India, which includes a 25 % punitive duty to buy Russian oil. India says the definitions are “unfair and unreasonable,” while the United States and the European Union trade invites Russia.

Ian Bremer, founder of the Eurasia Group, told CNBC on Wednesday that the latest request for the White Union was “difficult to retreat with Trump’s efforts to reach a business deal with India and China, which gives it priority on the comments on CNBC via email.

“It seems similar to trying to turn responsibility for a stronger response to Europe, creating a political cover for American inaction on the sanctions front while avoiding the direct strike of relations between the United States of China.”

“No one in Europe is believed to be a customs tariff is an effective tool for commercial policy … Europe prefers to address issues, instead of the explicit trade war,” said Bill Blain, market expert and founder of Wind Shift Capital in London. Newsletter for the morning porch Wednesday.

“Europe’s response should be” no. “Trump kicked Hornz’s nest – let him deal with the consequences.

The European Union’s bilateral trade with its neighbor reached 67.5 billion euros ($ 78.1 billion) in 2024, according to L. European Commission dataWith the European Union imports of 35.9 billion euros, dominated by fuel and mining products. The total European Union exports to Russia amounted to 31.5 billion euros in 2024.

The European Union has struggled for the fully lost Russian gas and the provision of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Russia’s share of European Union imports of pipeline gas fell from more than 40 % in 2021 to about 11.6 % in 2024, while Moscow represents less than 19 % of the total European Union pipeline and LNG in 2024, Committee Data notes.

The United States encouraged its European allies to turn into liquefied natural gas.

Trump said that the European Union has pledged, as part of its framework trade agreement with the United States – which witnessed 15 % of the customs tariff imposed on bloc exports to the states – To purchase US LNG products, Oil and Nuclear Energy, with an expected displacement of $ 750 billion During the next three years.

US Interior Minister Doug Burgum told CNBC on Wednesday that the Trump administration is looking to raise the American market share in Europe.

“[Exporting] LNG will be one of the easiest things, [you can] Put it on a ship, send it here. Remove Russian gas, push its market share to zero in Europe and lead its share in the American market. This is great for America, and it is great for our allies, and we stop financing Russia from the war, “he told CNBC at GASTECH 2025.