US Secretary: Europeans must be ready for more sanctions
Washington (dpa) – US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demands that Europe join the US sanctions against countries that buy Russian oil. The US is imposing an additional 25 percent tariff on imports from India as a penalty for the country sourcing Russian oil. “Europeans must be ready to bear these secondary sanctions,” Bessent said on Bloomberg TV.
US President Donald Trump will tell Russian President Vladimir Putin at their meeting in Alaska on Friday that “all options are on the table,” Bessent said. “Sanctions could be tightened, they could be loosened,” they could be time-limited or remain indefinite.
At the recent G7 summit, he asked the attendees if they would be willing to impose a 200 percent tariff on goods from China due to oil imports from Russia, Bessent said. “And you know what? Everyone wanted to see what shoes they were currently wearing.”
Revenue from energy exports is a key source of income for Russia, which has been waging an aggressive war against Ukraine since February 2022. The US and the European Union have also imposed various other sanctions against Russia in recent years.
The EU is currently preparing a new sanctions package against Russia. This was announced by the bloc’s foreign affairs representative, Kaja Kallas, last Friday after a video conference of EU foreign ministers. It would be the 19th EU package of punitive measures against Moscow. Kallas did not provide details on the planned sanctions. (August 13)
