Trump Abandons Tariff Threats on China Following Summit with Putin

President Donald Trump said after his Aug. 15 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that progress made in the talks means that he will not immediately consider imposing additional tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil—but hinted that he might have to “in two or three weeks.”

Trump has warned that if Russia does not move toward ending the war in Ukraine, the United States will impose sanctions directly on Moscow. He has also threatened secondary sanctions—penalties on countries such as China and India that continue to buy Russian oil despite U.S. pressure.

China and India are the largest buyers of Russian oil, providing Putin and his military with revenue that allows the Kremlin to keep the war against Ukraine going. Trump already hit India with an additional 25 percent tariff on Indian goods—bringing the total to 50 percent—explicitly citing its ongoing purchases of Russian oil as the reason.

Even though China is the biggest single buyer of Russian oil, Trump has not imposed similar tariffs or penalties on Beijing. Were he to ramp up Russia-related sanctions and tariffs, China and its slowing economy would suffer a sharp blow. Such a move would risk breaking a fragile U.S.–China trade truce, agreed to in order to give the two sides time to negotiate a broader deal.

Trump was asked by Fox News’s Sean Hannity, in an interview on Aug. 15, for his thoughts on the secondary tariffs against China and other buyers of Russian oil.

“Well, because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that,” Trump replied.

“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. I think, you know, the meeting went very well.”

At the height of their trade fight earlier this year, the United States hit Chinese imports with 145 percent tariffs, prompting Beijing to retaliate with 125 percent duties. The two sides have since scaled back, with current rates down to 10 percent on the United States and 30 percent on China.

After a two-day meeting in Sweden in late July, the world’s two largest economies signaled that they may extend the temporary trade truce to keep talks going. With the agreement set to expire on Aug. 12, Trump signed an executive order granting a 90-day extension of the tariff pause on China to permit further negotiations.

At their Alaska summit, Trump and Putin said they agreed on numerous points but fell short of securing a deal that would bring about a cease-fire in Ukraine, something Trump has been pushing for.

Trump said on Aug. 16 that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to Washington early next week for a meeting in the Oval Office.

“If all works out, we will then schedule a meeting with President Putin,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The meeting, set for Aug. 18, has been confirmed by Zelenskyy, who said in a post on X that “Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace.”

Both Trump and Putin said the Aug. 15 meeting set the stage for continued dialogue and stronger prospects for a peace deal.

In his interview with Hannity, the U.S. president said that there was agreement on many points, but that there were “one or two pretty significant items” left to settle, with the president expressing confidence that they can be resolved.

“Now it’s really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done, and I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit,” Trump said.