Trump himself cannot put 100 percent tariffs on China, since he doesn’t want his economy get stuck without Chinese rare earth magnets. Advice to EU to do this is killing two birds (EU and China) with one stone.
EU resistance: European officials have expressed little willingness to impose such sweeping tariffs. Sources indicate the EU prefers targeted sanctions and is cautious about damaging ongoing trade agreement negotiations with India and China. Some have characterized Trump's actions and rhetoric in trade negotiations with the EU as aggressive or threatening.
Past threats against EU: Throughout 2024 and 2025, Trump has publicly and privately threatened the EU with tariffs over various trade disputes.
China and rare earth magnets: As of August 2025, Trump has also publicly threatened China with 200% tariffs if it withholds exports of rare earth magnets to the U.S.
Considering that Trump supporters don’t think about EU countries as democracies (elections of Rumanian president, anyone?) they will like such Trump’s ideas. Trump needs their support, not support of semi-dead politically French Macron and extremely stupid economically German Merz.
“President Trump asked the European Union to hit some Chinese and Indian goods with tariffs of up to 100% in a new attempt to ratchet up pressure on Russia over its actions in Ukraine, two EU officials said.
The request, which comes as the U.S. tries to curb Indian purchases of Russian oil and Chinese support for Russia's economy, was made when Trump dialed into a meeting between U.S. and EU sanctions officials in Washington on Tuesday, the officials said.
Trump at one point urged the EU to impose a 50% tariff on India and China, and at another point said tariffs should be up to 100%, they said.
The White House didn't respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The EU isn't likely to impose such tariffs. One EU official said on Wednesday the bloc doesn't use tariffs to impose sanctions on other countries, and isn't basing its sanctions discussions on Trump's request.
The EU is preparing a 19th package of sanctions against Russia. Last week, the U.S. agreed to resume technical discussions with the EU on Russia sanctions, which was routine under the Biden administration but hasn't happened since Trump returned to the White House.
The bloc is expected to target some foreign firms that are helping Russia, possibly including some Chinese companies, according to diplomats. The EU isn't expected to make moves that would further restrict oil or gas purchases because of political sensitivities within the bloc, the diplomats said.
Discussions about the sanctions package are continuing and it isn't clear what the EU will decide, the diplomats said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said more pressure is needed to bring Russia to the negotiating table.
"We need more sanctions," she said during an annual state of the union speech on Wednesday morning. "We are particularly looking at phasing out Russian fossil fuels faster, the shadow fleet and third countries."
The EU has previously sanctioned what it refers to as a "shadow fleet" of ships that transport illicit Russian oil. It also has plans to phase out the purchase of Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to put economic pressure on Russia but has backed off doing so on several occasions. However, Washington did place tariffs on India, which has been buying Russian oil at discounted prices and making money by selling refined products based on Russian crude oil.
The EU has put sanctions on some Chinese and Indian companies and banks in recent months, targeting those the bloc believes are helping Russia' actions in in Ukraine.
However the bloc has treaded carefully with Chinese firms amid threats of retaliatory sanctions by Beijing. And the EU is hoping to lock in a free-trade agreement with India in the coming weeks.
The Financial Times earlier reported that Trump requested the EU impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and China.” [1]
1. World News: Trump Asks EU For Tariffs On China And India. Norman, Laurence; Kim Mackrael. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 11 Sep 2025: A6.
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