Trump claims there are no immediate intentions to punish China for purchasing Russian oil

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, stated on Friday that he may have to consider imposing retaliatory tariffs on nations like China for purchasing Russian oil “in two or three weeks.”

If nothing is done to stop the crisis in Ukraine, Trump has warned to impose sanctions on Moscow and secondary restrictions on nations that purchase its oil. The two biggest consumers of Russian oil are China and India.

Citing India’s ongoing imports of Russian oil, the president levied an additional 25% duty on Indian goods last week.

Trump hasn’t done the same against China, though.

After Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to reach a deal to end or halt Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Fox News’ Sean Hannity asked him if he was now thinking about taking comparable measures against Beijing.

Following his summit with Putin in Alaska, Trump stated, “Well, because of what happened today, I think I don’t have to think about that.”

We don’t need to consider that at the moment, but I might have to in two or three weeks or whatever. I believe the meeting went really well.

Trump’s pledge to increase sanctions and tariffs on Russia will hurt Chinese President Xi Jinping’s faltering economy.

Trump and Xi are negotiating a trade agreement that may reduce import duties and other issues between the two largest economies in the world. But if Trump steps up his punitive actions, China might be the largest target left, aside from Russia.