Trump warns Russia and others of tariffs if a deal on Ukraine isn’t achieved.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he would impose additional tariffs related to his sanctions warning against Russia if the nation fails to reach an agreement to resolve its conflict in Ukraine, noting that these could also extend to “other participating countries.”

In a post, Trump adjusted his Tuesday remarks about potentially imposing sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin wouldn’t engage in negotiations to resolve the nearly three-year conflict. Trump stated, “If we do not reach a ‘deal’ promptly, I will have no alternative but to impose significant Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on all goods sold by Russia to the United States and several other involved nations.”

Trump’s message did not specify the nations he viewed as involved in the conflict, nor did it explain his criteria for defining participation.

The administration of former President Joe Biden imposed severe sanctions on thousands of entities across Russia’s banking, defense, manufacturing, energy, technology, and other sectors following Moscow’s comprehensive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and left cities in ruins. Russia’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy stated that Moscow would need to understand Trump’s interpretation of a “deal” to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

Leading up to his election victory on Nov. 5, Trump repeatedly asserted that he would establish an agreement between Ukraine and Russia on his first day in office, if not sooner. However, Trump’s advisors have acknowledged that an agreement to conclude the conflict may require months or possibly more. Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury imposed its toughest sanctions on Russia’s energy income, focusing on oil and gas companies Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, in addition to 183 ships linked to the so-called dark fleet of tankers intended to bypass other Western trade restrictions.

Trump has aimed to leverage the potential of tariffs to accomplish non-trade objectives, including pressuring Mexico, Canada, and China with duties to compel them to halt illegal migration and the influx of the dangerous opioid fentanyl into the United States. These three nations are the leading U.S. trading partners, representing over $2.1 trillion in yearly bilateral trade.

Russia ranks low on the list, as U.S. imports from Russia dropped to $2.9 billion in the first 11 months of 2024, compared to $29.6 billion in 2021.

In 2014, the U.S. imported $13.5 billion of Russian petroleum products, but this dropped to zero due to sanctions related to the Ukraine conflict. Several other leading import categories from a decade back, such as semi-finished steel and pig iron, have likewise decreased to nothing.

The U.S. continues to import large quantities of Russian fertilizers for agriculture—approximately $1.4 billion in 2023—alongside over $1 billion each of uranium for nuclear energy and palladium and rhodium for automotive catalytic converters. Regarding other nations, the Biden administration has enforced sanctions on organizations in North Korea and Iran for supplying weapons to Russia and on Chinese companies that provide components and various goods aiding Russia’s military operations. The negotiating stances of the two conflicting parties remain widely divergent, and some Ukrainians worry they might have to make significant concessions after three years of intense conflict. The struggle has turned into a war of attrition primarily taking place along the front lines in eastern Ukraine, resulting in significant casualties for both sides.