On the surface, Trump’s big announcement on Russia is a nothingburger.
Trump to Russia: 100% ‘secondary’ tariffs if no deal on Ukraine
Please consider Trump to Russia: 100% ‘secondary’ tariffs if no deal on Ukraine
Voicing sharp frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to impose 100 per cent “secondary” tariffs on any country doing business with Russia if a Ukraine ceasefire isn’t secured within 50 days.
Speaking alongside Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office, Trump took direct aim at Putin as he also announced plans to boost arms sales to the transatlantic alliance in support of Ukraine.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin, because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to get there,” Trump said “So based on that, we’re going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days.”
Trump Says Putin Talks Are ‘Pleasant’ but Meaningless
NBC reports Trump Says Putin Talks Are ‘Pleasant’ but Meaningless
Trump told reporters at the White House that he has had friendly conversations with Putin but has become frustrated that Russia continued to attack Ukraine.
“I speak to him a lot about getting this thing done, and I always hang up say, ‘Well, that was a nice phone call,’” Trump said. “And then missiles launched into Kyiv or some other city, and I said, ‘strange.’”
“And after that happens three or four times, you say, ‘The talk doesn’t mean anything,’” Trump added, going on to note that his conversations with Putin are “always very pleasant.”
100 Percent Tariffs
The Wall Street Journal reports US Imports from Russia Jan-Nov 2024
The U.S. will impose tariffs up to 100% on Russia if that country does not agree to halt hostilities in Ukraine within 50 days, President Trump said Monday. The levies will be in the form of “secondary tariffs,” Trump said, though he didn’t elaborate. Secondary tariffs typically refer to levies put on a country for its trade with a U.S. adversary, such as Trump’s threat earlier this year to tariff goods from nations that import Venezuelan oil.
The U.S. will impose “very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, adding that the tariffs would be “at about 100%.” Trump didn’t indicate what legal authority he would use to impose the secondary tariffs, but a bipartisan bill is moving through Congress that would give the president authority to impose tariffs up to 500% on Russia. During the meeting, Trump said he didn’t need the legislation to impose tariffs on Russia, but welcomed the lawmakers’ efforts.
A Big Tariff Nothingburger?
The sum total of US imports from Russia is ~3 billion for 2024.
This is supposed to make Putin quake?
However, the threat appears to be “secondary tariffs” for which Trump currently has no authority to make, but he doesn’t care.
A “secondary” tariff, would target other nations that do business with Russia.
China would be hit but it has a convenient response. If China shut down rare earth exports, it would send Trump reeling.
Congress would be damn stupid to give Trump more tariff authority, but who knows?
When do we anoint trump King of the world? I have been waiting for the announcement.
Nothingburger or not, both sides have to be getting tired of this war. As soon as that happens, war will end, and on terms that won’t please anyone.
Related Posts
July 9, 2025: Trump Slaps Brazil With a 50 Percent Tariff Over Treatment of Political Ally
The tariff Bizarro World gets more bizarre.
July 11, 2025: How Trump Made Copper Arbitrage and Tariff Front Running Great Again
The copper arbitrage trade is one for the record books but it is winding down.
July 12, 2025: Trump Announces 30 Percent Tariffs on the EU and Mexico
Trump seems emboldened that he has not blown up the global economy yet.
July 13, 2025: Trump Made Gold and Copper Tariff Front-Running Great, Is Silver Next?
Already underway?
Russians will persevere through this round of tariffs, as they have done through previous tariffs. Russians believe, rightly or wrongly, that they face an existential threat from NATO via Ukraine. They will invest much more than the west to achieve military victory in Ukraine. That is why they will prevail in that conflict!
Not many people get it…
Russia is sitting on hundreds of trillions of cu ft of natural gas. Trillions of barrels of oil. Billions of tons of fertilizer. Trump is doing everything he can to continue our addiction to oil… The Permian Basin is peaking its production in the nest two years and will fall precipitously thereafter. Why do you think they spun the nuclear threat and bombed Iran into compliance? It was the OIL!
Russia is the future breadbasket of the world as global warming turns thousands of square miles of untillable land into incredibly productive farmland. They are already the largest exporter of wheat and are starting to plant soy and corn to displace American farmers.
Trump of course is alienating those that have been buyers of our agricultural exports.
That is why I have been long the Russian Ruble.
Elections have consequences!
In my thinking from outside the box that farmers generally live in… Hmmmmmm…
What should I plant this year since Trump was elected. What happened last time? Crop prices crashed and most farmers had to be subsidized at taxpayers expense.
Not a situation I wanted to participate in.
So, I stockpiled my fertilizer turned down the salesman’s offers on corn & soy seed and tilled my land in a variety of soil building plants like buckwheat and clover.
They are not energy intensive crops, plant easily with lite tillage and low cost, zero fertilizer or weed control. In fall the seeds from the buckwheat will be harvested and I will have over 50x the seeds I started with. The cover biomass will be plowed into my soil as organics and hold moisture for next year and the year after…
While I wait, the bees are multiplying and bringing in honey by the gallons per day and I am splitting the hives as quickly as we can obtain new queens.
The hive splits sell for over $250 per split… Bees are threatened and hives have risen in value big time.
Do the math farmers, there is a better way!
>
Meanwhile, Trump gets on TV and misdirects people away from the Epstein noose that even his stalwart MAGA’s want to hang him on…
Bread and circuses…
We voted for the peace candidate, and we got a continuation of the apparatus for which Biden was the figurehead. There’s only one way to stop the Ukraine war: Quit forcing the US taxpayer pay for it.
“Trump threatens….” Pay attention to what he does more than what he says. You’re welcome.
What Trump is really saying is that he is going pummel American importers and American consumers until Putin stops the war. Putin says, “Hold my Vodka”.
I am so sick of Trump even though I very reluctantly voted for him twice (2016 and 2024) He is an agent for chaos. He is embarrassing the United States with his foolishness and warmongering- even more so than the complete idiot Biden and Harris also. Russia did not start the damned Ukraine war- We started and provoked it with the coup in 2014. The idiot Zelensky announced he wanted nuclear weapons just days before the SMO started. Zelensky had troops that had amassed ready for a full scale invasion of the Donbass. NATO expanded and expanded for 20 years right up to Russia’s borders. I’m so sick of the hypocrisy of Trump, NATO and the complete ignorance of 90% of the American people who know NOTHING except what either Fox News or CNN tells them. This tariff baloney makes me ill. How about some honesty and taking responsibility for our own actions which have led to humongous budget and trade deficits?
Concise and correct.
“I speak to him a lot about getting this thing done, and I always hang up say, ‘Well, that was a nice phone call,’” Trump said. “And then missiles launched into Kyiv or some other city, and I said, ‘strange.’”
I’ve heard something like this somewhere, but I can’t put my finger on it.
Russia needs to ban all trade with the US already. Go all in with Team China!
40%/50% of Russian’s weapons came from N. Korea. Much less from Iran or China. Losing 20/30 civilians in Kiev is sad, but it doesn’t change the war outcome. Ukraine war and the Israeli/Iran war caused a systemic change: The E3 rejuvenate their defense. Trump wants Japan, S. Korea and Australia to do the same and to be loyal to our side, on the cusp of Australia PM visit to Beijing.
And Australia is welcoming the “Asian Invasion” as it is another exporter of resources driven economy.
Just like Canada, they are turning to China and Asia as a place to export products to.
DUH!
Trump is playing checkers while the world economy plays 10D chess.
We have an idiot for a president.
<
That’s laughable! Of course he said on the campaign trail he’d bring an end to that war in 24 hours. It’s been nearly 6 months since he was sworn in. Don’t get me wrong, I support Trump for the most part, but I give him plenty of crap too. He hasn’t brought an end to either war raging when he came into office. He hasn’t increased oil production a bit nor has he lowered gasoline prices. His tariff war is going swimmingly terrible without a single new trade deal signed and put into effect. Of course on April 22 he had 200 new deals sitting on his desk and he was going be done with his self-imposed tariff war with the world in 3-4 weeks. It’s been a real long 3-4 weeks. About the only thing he’s done incredibly well is shutting down the damn border. Beyond that, I can’t say that there are any real accomplishments so far. Of course many will say, “Well Kamala would’ve been worse.” In that they are correct, but that is the most irrelevant response there is. There is no Kamala. There is Trump and he’s not the negotiator thus far that his Trump Humpers think he is.
Aside from the west coast states, Illinois, and Hawaii, gas prices are pretty low right now.
The only $1.97 per gallon is in Trump’s head and the most homebound of HS followers
It really hasn’t changed much at all in the last year
That is correct, but diesel prices have been on the rise since June 1. However, most populated areas of the country use RBOB gasoline whereas areas with low populations, which cover far more square miles than populated areas, use CBOB gasoline. CBOB gasoline is quite a bit lower price wise than what folks in populated areas see. I haven’t seen $1.97 gasoline, but then again, I live in the Atlanta metro area.
$4.89/gallon by me. Our state is run by morons.
I trust you’re out on the west coast, unless you’re in Hawaii or Alaska. West coast prices are always at the top of the price charts when it comes to gasoline and diesel prices. Heck, that’s the case for prices for anything.
I track gasoline and diesel prices daily and I assure you, they have remained flat since Trump was sowrn in and are still up a few cents a gallon. Diesel prices have been rising since June 1 far more than gasoline prices. The reason? Diesel stocks are at lows not seen in just over 20 years.
I track gasoline and diesel prices daily and I can assure you, none of them are down since Trump came into office. As a matter of fact, they are all up ever so slightly and have remained in a tight price range since Trump was sworn in. Diesel prices are performing the worst and have been on a steady rise since June 1. They are probably going to continue to rise given that diesel stocks remain at lows not seen in just over 20 years. WA, OR, CA, AK, ID, UT and NV are all seeing higher diesel prices YoY and several more states are seeing the YoY savings erode quickly. This doesn’t bode well for inflation given how many goods and services rely on diesel fuel. Not to mention, our oil imports from Canada have dropped significantly since Trump’s tariff world with the world. Canada doesn’t just provide about 60% of our oil imports, but they also have among the cheapest oil in the world. We’re now importing more expensive oil primarily from the ME and Europe. Not only is it more expensive than Canadian crude, but it also costs a lot more to transport oil across the Atlantic or Pacific than it does to bring it in from our northern neighbor. That too doesn’t bode well for gas prices and is why we haven’t seen any decline at all in pump prices for gasoline or diesel.
I was just thinking more in comparison with historical prices, and compared to some things that have gone up a lot, especially rents/housing, that gas prices aren’t that bad overall, not California of course, but the median wage is also substantially higher in CA, so that makes up for some of it. The CPI for gas right now was at the same level in 2008 and got higher 2008.
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Gasoline (All Types) in U.S. City Average (CUUR0000SETB01) | FRED | St. Louis Fed
I don’t think it would be good if the gov’t subsidized gas any more than it already does. Considering how much money printing was done since they started QE/suppressing rates with money printing (which they thankfully aren’t doing now and hopefully don’t start again), it’s surprising that gas isn’t quite a bit higher, so that’s a real concern that it could catch up with overall CPI. I think all the deficit spending/debt and QE done by both the Republicans and the Democrats and the Fed, the latest being Trumps BBB, put inflation/gas prices at risk of going higher, so I agree it’s a big risk.
In June 2025 social security spending was $141M. Interest: $84B. Health: $80B, Defense: $70B. In the next three years the gang of three: SS, interest and health will shrink. Demand for houses in CA, FL and TX is falling. Rent will fall.
Give me back my ball now, or I’ll hit your little sister !
Bankrupting the u.s.
Hate to burst your bubble, but the government has been bankrupting the U.S. since the GWB years.
FDR years ?
LBJ years
Within three months the US gov will start 2026 fiscal year. In 2026 the budget deficit will shrink due to lower rates, higher tax collection, higher tariffs, regulations and a smaller gov. Within two/three years the US gov will shrink by 10%/20%. Next year the front line of the boomers will reach eighty. The zoomer said: we don’t care about your assets. If SPX falls DXY will rise. Demand for Nike Air Jordan (63Y) for $250 will plunge.
Perhaps one explanation: Ukraine’s collapse is accelerating, even though it’s rarely discussed in the Western media. Trump is making every possible communication gesture (he’s going to send weapons, impose maximum sanctions) so that he can’t be accused of being the cause of the Ukrainian debacle.
“Trump says the Fed should set interest rates at less than one half of one percent”
Yeah, nothing like ZIRP showing America is back in charge
I think if deep state puppet Kamala had gotten in, we would have been in a situation of getting progressively more involved in the Ukraine war.
Trump made it clear from his first days in office that he is not going along with escalation. He is handing that task over to Europe if that’s what they choose to do.
The funding he is giving Ukraine is basically for defense, not offense. You don’t win a war with Patriot missile defense systems.
On the subject of Trump and war, I give Trump credit for de-escalating and ending the Israel-Iran war. I believe the real reason for ending the war was Israel realized it bit off more than it could chew and was looking for an off ramp, but Trump ended it sooner than Israel really wanted to.
virtually everything sent to Ukraine, Biden or Trump, was for “defense”
“Biden authorizes Ukraine to use US-supplied longer range missiles for deeper strikes inside Russia” That’s offense, not defense, and that represented an escalation on Biden’s part.
We’ll see how things pan out, but the indications are Trump is not going along with Europe in escalating the war.
Would you care for a strike on Washington or Berlin?
Washington, please.
Kamala would have heightened the risk of nuclear confrontation.
We came very close in Dec 2024
“I’m disappointed in President Putin, because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to get there,” Trump said
Well, I’m disappointed in Trump. I personally recall him stating that he would have the Russia-Ukraine war ended on day one of his Presidency, maybe even before he took office. Did he lie? Is he just stupid? Now he’s just copying Biden by shipping arms to Ukraine. Was Biden right the whole time? Anybody? Bueller?
Putin also disappointed.
No reference to root causes
They’ve repeated this ad infinitum.
Trump hasn’t even managed to restore consulates, banking access, or direct flights.
These are the minimum of even engaging the other party.
This is the most cogent criticism of Trump. Since we don’t have media that can explain anything other than what will allow them to keep their access, and we don’t have leadership in any of the government branches, we’re all left to wonder what is happening, why the change in direction and what the goals/timeframes are.
Secondary tariffs up to 500% being worked on in Congress
“They’re going to pass a very major and very biting sanctions bill, but it’s up to the president as to whether or not he wants to exercise it,” Trump told broadcaster NBC.
Asked during a cabinet meeting about his interest in the bill, Trump said: “I’m looking at it very strongly.”
“This congressional package that we’re looking at would give President Trump the ability to impose 500% tariffs on any country that helps Russia,” said Graham, adding that those could include economies that purchase Russian goods like China, India or Brazil.
“This is truly a sledgehammer available to President Trump to end this war,” said Graham.
Trump is still under the allusion that the losers can dictate the terms of the peace.
enough already with the goldish paint in the White House ty
your attention to this matter is appreciated
No units on top chart, are those in millions of dollars?
yes
The American war on Russia started in 1991. It took until 2022 for Russia to start to fight back. The tariffs and sanctions mean nothing. The American arms will make no difference. The fact that the West has learned nothing only solidifies Russia’s understanding that Ukraine – the West’s forward base against Russia – must be vanquished. When Linda Graham spoke of “fighting to the last Ukrainian”, I didn’t know (s)he meant it so literally.
Prepare for even crazier and more desperate flailing as he tries to distract everyone and pretend he didn’t rape little girls.
trump supporters are pedophilia supporters. Full stop.
Bondi had the Epstein client list on her desk, as she factually stated some time ago. Upon seeing Trump as the star of the list, she had no choice but to factually state that the list never existed in the first place. This is how Team Trump operates. Heads I’m right, tails you’re in prison.
Downvotes from pedos, as expected.
I don’t know if it’s 100% accurate to say he has no authority for the secondary tariffs. It may arguably be weak, but it’s at least a better national security/foreign policy argument than the existing justifications for the misleadingly named “reciprocal tariffs” from March. And there is something there you could point to as being an “emergency”, if you stretch the term a bit. It’s at least a little closer to the intent of the available supporting legal arguments. But yes, I would like congress to find its courage.