Several measures in the European Union’s (EU’s) nineteenth sanctions package against Russia, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday, appear tailored to please US President Donald Trump. Yet perhaps the most important signal Brussels aimed to send was that the EU remains committed to phasing out the little that remains of Russian energy imports to the bloc. Why? Last week, Trump reportedly dialed in unannounced to a meeting between a delegation of EU sanctions experts and US officials, during which he called for the EU to enact steep tariffs on India and China. Then over the weekend, the US president posted on social media that NATO countries should place “50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended.”
The EU won’t tariff China and India to please Trump. But it is working on a counteroffer (Charles Lichfield – Atlantic Council)
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