Main points
- US President Donald Trump supported a bill on 500% export duties on goods from countries purchasing Russian products.
- Senator Lindsey Graham and Artem Bronzhukov point to possible change in Trump's foreign policy course after NATO summit in The Hague.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said that US President Donald Trump supported a bill that would impose 500% export duties on goods from countries that continue to purchase Russian products, particularly energy resources.
This could become a lever of pressure on Russia, and also indicate a change in Trump's foreign policy course after the NATO summit in The Hague. However, as Artem Bronzhukov, deputy director of the Politika analytical center, noted on Channel 24, there is a certain nuance.
Trump may impose tough tariffs
About a month ago, Artem Bronzhukov spoke with one of the advisers to influential Republican senators. He confirmed that the likelihood of this bill being adopted is very high. It is obvious that the development of the initiative has been agreed upon with the White House. It is unlikely that such a document would have appeared without prior approval from Trump.
This bill was probably considered as one of the levers of pressure on Russia in the context of the negotiation process, but this did not happen. However, after the recent summit in The Hague, which took place last week, the US activity in this direction increased. Donald Trump began to voice messages aimed at unity – both in relation to Ukraine and to European allies.
There may be a noticeable change in direction in the context of American politics, noted the deputy director of the Politika analytical center.
At the same time, there is no need to rush to conclusions. The introduction of 500% duties against companies that continue to buy Russian oil and simultaneously cooperate with American partners would certainly be a powerful signal.
But we must remember how Trump introduced tariffs against European countries, China and Canada: he took one step forward and immediately two steps back. According to this story, we also need to see how the situation will develop, – noted Artem Bronzhukov.
In his opinion, the decisive moment in Trump's change of position was the NATO summit in The Hague. There, the member countries of the Alliance agreed to increase their own contribution to the financing of the defense bloc to 5% of GDP until 2035. For Trump, this is a kind of “medal” that he can hang on his shirt.
Now both Ukraine and its partners expect Trump to take concrete steps forward – on issues that are critically important for Ukrainian security and defense.
