NEW YORK: The European Union has effectively rejected US President Donald Trump's request to impose high tariffs on some goods from C...
NEW YORK: The European Union has effectively rejected US President Donald Trump's request to impose high tariffs on some goods from China and India, arguing that the bloc does not use tariffs as a sanctions tool, The Wall Street Journal reported citing two EU officials.
According to the newspaper, Trump voiced his request on Tuesday at a meeting of US and EU officials on sanctions in Washington. The American president's goal was to increase pressure on Russia by limiting India's purchases of Russian oil and China's support for the Russian economy.
The EU is currently preparing its 19th package of sanctions against Russia that will target some foreign companies that, according to the union, allegedly "help Moscow." However, according to diplomats, the bloc is unlikely to further restrict oil or gas purchases due to political differences within the union.
Earlier, the Financial Times reported that the EU is discussing sanctions against China and third countries for the purchase of Russian oil and gas. The story says that EU officials and diplomats began negotiations on September 7 on the inclusion of such restrictions in the new package of sanctions. According to three sources of the newspaper, during the preliminary discussions the issue of secondary sanctions against China were repeatedly raised.
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