Trump's ultimatum to Putin: Threatening 100% tariffs if no deal with Ukraine is reached within 50 days

BarcelonaUS President Donald Trump has imposed a 50-day ultimatum on his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to reach a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine, and has said that if one is not reached within this time, he will impose "secondary tariffs" of 100% on Russia. He said this during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, where he also announced an agreement to send US weapons to Ukraine, subject to purchase by the European partners of the Atlantic Alliance.

"One of the reasons (Rutte) is here is because I am very unhappy with Russia. We will impose very severe tariffs if we do not have an agreement in 50 days. Secondary tariffs of approximately 100%," said Trump, who insisted that he is very "disappointed." "I hope we don't have to do that," he said. "We believe we will help bring about progress," added the US president, who criticized the Kremlin leader for dragging his feet without doing anything to stop the war: "He talks, talks, and talks, and then he sends missiles to Kiev that kill 60 people." "I don't want to say he's a killer, but he's a tough guy; he's proven himself over the years. He's fooled a lot of people: Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden. He hasn't fooled me, but in the end, words are useless. You have to act and get results."

In his second term in the White House, Trump has imposed or threatened "secondary tariffs" on several US trading partners. This is a policy based on penalizing third countries that trade with the state that is the target of the trade sanctions. This Monday, he did not provide further details on his plans to sanction Russia in this way, as he expressed confidence that the Kremlin will do "what must be done" to achieve a "lasting peace" and, therefore, avoid this trade punishment.

In March, Trump already suggested the possibility of imposing tariffs on countries that buy oil from Russia and punishing Moscow with large-scale sanctions, although for the moment he has not carried out any of these threats.

Arms sales in Europe

Trump took advantage of Rutte's visit to the White House to announce an agreement under which the US will send weapons to NATO member countries for transfer to Ukraine, coordinated by the alliance. "We make the best military equipment, the best missiles, the best of everything. And the European nations know this [...]. We have reached an agreement: we will send them the weapons and they will pay for them. We, the United States, will not make any payments. We will manufacture them and they will pay for them," Trump stressed.

"The European countries are taking a step forward," Rutte argued, adding that the agreement includes various types of weapons, such as air defenses, ammunition, and missiles. "If I were Vladimir Putin, I would reconsider whether I should hold more serious negotiations with Ukraine," he stated.

"It's a great deal: billions of dollars in military equipment purchased in the United States and quickly distributed on the battlefield," Trump summarized, saying that he has spoken with the largest allies and that they are "excited" about the agreement. Since the Republican returned to the White House in January, Ukraine had only received weapons from the United States through funds committed by the Joe Biden administration. "We have already spent a lot of money (in Ukraine) and we don't want to continue doing that. But we make the best (weapons) and we will send them to NATO," he insisted.

Since the beginning of his second term, Trump has stressed the idea that the US has provided much more aid to Kiev than Europe ($350 billion compared to about $100 billion). But according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which does aexhaustive monitoring of the money that Ukraine has receivedIn financial, military, and humanitarian aid, Europe has allocated more money than the United States to this cause since the start of the war on February 24, 2022: €156.1 billion, compared to €114.6 billion (at the current exchange rate) for the United States. In addition, the EU has pledged to contribute another €100 billion in the future.

Air defense

Trump praised the "enormous courage" of the Ukrainians, but admitted that they are losing their ability to defend themselves due to a lack of weapons. Among the weapons the US will send to Kiev are Patriot air defense systems, crucial for Ukraine to defend itself against Russian bombing. Moscow has intensified airstrikes on Ukrainian cities in recent weeks with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles. Last week, Russia launched 728 drones and 13 missiles in a single night, the record so far.

In addition, the Russian army is also gradually advancing on the battlefield. This Monday, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed progress in the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia, a front that has recently reopened, while it also continues to gain ground in the Donetsk region.

Trump's envoy meets with Zelensky

Meanwhile, White House special envoy Keith Kellogg traveled to Kiev on Monday, where he met with Volodymyr Zelensky. After the meeting, the Ukrainian president assured X that they discussed "the path to peace" and what the two countries can do together "from a practical point of view to bring it closer." "This includes strengthening Ukraine's air defenses, joint production and acquisition of defensive weapons in collaboration with Europe," as well as "sanctions against Russia and those who help it."

Zelensky also thanked Kellogg for his visit and expressed his satisfaction with the "significant signs of support" from the United States. "We are hopeful about the US leadership, because it is clear that Moscow will never stop unless its unreasonable ambitions are hindered by force," the Ukrainian leader added. The White House special envoy plans to stay in Kiev for a week to discuss these efforts and a possible resumption of negotiations with Moscow.