President Donald Trump warned Tuesday at the UN General Assembly that the U.S. is prepared for a “very strong round of powerful tariffs” if Russia does not agree to end the war in Ukraine.
He criticized European nations for continuing to purchase Russian energy, saying, “They are funding the war against themselves,” and argued that the EU must join Washington in imposing tariffs for them to be effective.
While Europe has reduced Russian energy imports since the war began, Hungary and Slovakia remain key buyers of oil, and France, Belgium, and Spain still import natural gas, albeit at lower levels, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
The EU has recently ramped up pressure on Moscow, introducing new sanctions targeting Chinese and Indian companies involved in Russian oil purchases and crypto platforms tied to Russia.
On Tuesday, it also announced it would end all Russian energy purchases by 2026, a year earlier than initially planned.