The United States is pressing Group of Seven allies to adopt tariffs of up to 100 percent on China and India in response to their purchases of Russian oil, as per a Bloomberg report.
Washington aims to increase economic pressure on Moscow in an effort to convince President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
The proposal also calls for G-7 members to establish a legal framework that would allow the seizure of immobilised Russian sovereign assets, including potentially using the principal of those assets to fund Ukraine’s defence.
Around $300 billion in Russian central bank reserves remain frozen, the majority of them in Europe.
Asset seizures on the table
While profits generated by Russia’s frozen assets are already being channelled into loans for Ukraine, US officials have been exploring broader options.
Washington has discussed with European partners the idea of gradually seizing Moscow’s frozen central bank holdings to tighten financial pressure and push Russia toward negotiations, the report added, citing sources.
Canada, which holds the G-7 presidency this year, convened a meeting of finance ministers on Friday to “discuss further measures to increase pressure on Russia and limit their war machinery,” according to an official statement.
Tariffs as high as 100%
The US proposal envisions secondary tariffs ranging from 50 to 100 percent on China and India, both major buyers of Russian crude, and the introduction of restrictive trade measures on imports and exports.
These measures would aim to limit the flow of Russian energy revenues and block the transfer of dual-use technologies into Russia.
In August, the United States imposed an additional 25% tariff on imports from India in response to New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
The latest measure raised overall duties to as high as 50%, placing India among the countries facing the steepest trade levies from Washington.
Goldman Sachs estimated that the higher tariffs could reduce India’s annual GDP growth rate by 0.6 percentage points in the current fiscal year.
Trump signals conditional support
President Donald Trump has indicated to European officials that the US is prepared to impose sweeping new tariffs on India and China if Europe agrees to do the same.
Trump conveyed this position during a call with senior US and European Union officials in Washington this week, as per media reports.
The proposal faces hurdles in Europe, where sanctions against Russia’s energy sector have divided member states.
Countries such as Hungary have resisted more stringent measures, and new tariffs or sanctions would require unanimous approval within the bloc.
Trump’s comments followed the expiration of his self-imposed deadline for Putin to meet bilaterally with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The Russian leader has shown no sign of engaging in face-to-face peace talks, and Moscow has instead escalated its bombing campaign in Ukraine.
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