US President Donald Trump once again used international trade as a weapon of geopolitical pressure on Saturday. Trump called on the other countries that are part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, which is a military, not economic, alliance) to finalize a new round of"significant sanctions" against Russia, ending purchases of oil from that country. He also called on China, the largest buyer of Russian crude oil, to impose secondary tariffs. He has asserted that his goal with this measure is to force Moscow to end its invasion of Ukraine.

Trump's latest salvo comes amid significant pressure from his team on the European Union to impose tariffs of up to 100% on China and India—the main buyers of Russian crude oil—to stop them from buying oil from Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin. The White House is putting significant pressure on Brussels—with whom it has just signed a highly controversial trade agreement on tariffs due to the EU's concessions—according to several high-ranking EU sources. Now, Trump has also put the issue on the table of the G-7 of the world's most industrialized economies.

The EU, which is negotiating a trade pact with India, is not at all in favor of imposing such taxes, at least for now, several sources say. It continues to focus on sanctions against the Kremlin, its inner circle, and those who help it evade the restrictions. Brussels is now working on the nineteenth package of sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine.

“I am ready to impose significant sanctions on Russia when all NATO nations have agreed to do so and have begun, and when all NATO nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA,” the president wrote in a message on his social media platform, Truth, posted early morning (Washington time). “NATO’s commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian oil by some has been shocking! This greatly weakens their bargaining position vis-à-vis Russia. I am ready to ‘act’ when you are. Just say when.”

The announcement comes days after Russian drones invaded the airspace of Poland, a NATO member, on Tuesday. Article 5 of the alliance requires mutual assistance in the event of unjustified aggression. The attack, downplayed by Trump, who appeared to buy into the theory on Thursday that it was a mistake, added pressure on the US president, as Warsaw demanded a decisive response. So far, Saturday's attack has been the only gesture, albeit timid, worthy of the name.

It's yet another example of the gimmicky nature of the Republican's threats. In reality, the vast majority of NATO countries stopped importing Russian crude oil a long time ago. Only two still do so: Hungary and Slovakia. Both are led by staunch defenders of Russia's Vladimir Putin and Trump himself: the far-right Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico, respectively.

Trump campaigned for the White House, promising to end the war in Ukraine on his first day in the Oval Office, a promise he has yet to fulfill 237 days later. He hoped his good personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin would help him achieve this, but Putin has been playing dumb for months, relying on the patience of his counterpart, who has threatened sanctions that have never materialized.

On August 15, the two met at a military base in Anchorage, Alaska. The US president not only brought Putin out of his international isolation and put aside his threats to impose new tariffs on Russia to force a change of heart from the Kremlin, but also accepted the Russian leader's main demands and began talking about ending the war.

Since then, Putin has been heaping praise on Trump while intensifying his war effort. The largest missile and drone attack on Ukraine in the three-and-a-half years of war occurred last Sunday. All these military actions appear designed to provoke Trump into toughening his stance on Russia and to make clear that Putin is only willing to end the war on his own terms.

In his Saturday address, the Republican president also wields a weapon of pressure on China, the world's largest importer of Russian oil, calling on it to impose a tariff"of between 50% and 100%, which would be completely withdrawn once the war between Russia and Ukraine is over." This measure, he hopes,"will greatly help END this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, war. China has a strong hold, even dominance, over Russia, and these powerful tariffs will break that hold."

Tariffs on India

Trump already used that same argument when he announced his harsh tariffs on India, the second-largest buyer of crude oil from that country and the country that, taking advantage of the steep discounts Moscow has been forced to impose, has boosted its purchases the most since the start of the war. Products imported from that country are subject to a 50% tax, the highest in the world along with the one imposed on Brazil for ideological reasons. With these rates, Trump seeks to pressure the Ibero-American country over the trial of his friend Jair Bolsonaro, sentenced this week to 27 years in prison for a coup plotter.

Russia is flirting with recession, but Putin is convinced that his economy's resilience will allow him to continue his war adventure. A stranglehold on what remains of his oil export business could jeopardize those plans.

"If NATO does what I say, the war will end quickly. If not, they're just wasting my time, and America's time, energy, and money," the US president writes.

Trump's proposals to the rest of NATO member states come just days after Moscow took the escalation to a new level with an unprecedented drone incursion into Poland. Also, paradoxically, less than 24 hours after it became known that the US and Chinese negotiating teams will meet in Madrid in the coming days to try to find a solution to their bitter trade dispute.

When Trump announced on April 2 his intention to impose tariffs on dozens of his trading partners to balance what he considered an unfair balance, a tariff escalation between China and the United States began, culminating in tariffs of 145% from Washington toward Beijing and 125% in the other direction. In May, both countries announced a truce and a reduction in tariffs to 30%. This truce is pending materialization in a more comprehensive agreement.