Trump vows 100% secondary sanctions on Russian exports if no Ukraine peace in 50 days

US President Donald Trump said on July 14 he would impose 100% secondary sanctions on any country that buys Russian exports if Russia does not reach a peace agreement with Ukraine in the next 50 days.

The comments came during a public Oval Office meeting with NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte announcing a US deal to sell weapons for NATO countries to send to Ukraine. Trump repeatedly expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he accused of refusing to negotiate in good-faith discussions to end a war that began with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

"We're very, very unhappy with them, and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs," Trump said. "If we don't have a deal in 50 days, we'll have tariffs and 100% secondary tariffs," he said.

The announcement came amid a bipartisan push in the US Senate to pass the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025. The bill would impose a 500% duty on all goods or services imported into the US from any country that "knowingly sells, supplies, transfers, or purchases oil, uranium, petroleum products, or petrochemical products that originated in the Russian Federation," according to the bill text.

According to Congress.gov, the bill has 84 listed cosponsors in the US Senate alone. In a June 13 interview on CBS's Face The Nation, Senator Lindsay Graham, Republican-South Carolina said he and Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat-Connecticut, had secured the votes for swift passage if Trump gave the bill his blessing. Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has also publicly indicated his chamber's willingness to pass the package.

At the meeting with Rutte, Trump said the bill was "good" but did not commit to supporting it if passed.

"I'm not sure we need it," he said. "It's certainly good that they're doing. ... I always say I don't need it, because I don't want them to waste their time. It could be very useful. We'll see."

Market impact

Crude oil futures fell to session lows following Trump's comments. At 1557 GMT, front-month NYMEX August WTI dropped $1.12 to $67.33/b, and prompt-dated ICE September Brent traded 89 cents lower at $69.47/b.

"Despite heavy sanctions, Russian oil has consistently found friendly buyers in the East, leaving the supply side largely unaffected," said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.

To date in 2025, India, China, and Turkey have been the largest purchasers of Russian oil, S&P Global Commodities at Sea data showed July 14, collectively representing 53% of Russia's total waterborne exports.

India has imported an average of 1.69 million b/d of Russian crude and condensates in 2025, while China took an average of 1.09 million b/d and Turkey 377,000 b/d, CAS data showed.

Despite crude futures' immediate fall, potential 100% US tariffs on China and India would have significant market ramifications and would present a specific challenge for India's Jamnagar Refinery, the world's largest, Atlantic Council Energy Advisory Council Chairman David Goldwyn said.

"Are you really going to impose 100% tariffs on China?" Goldwyn said. "That would be a big deal for the global economy. And are you really going to punish the Indians this way? If you say you can't buy Iranian crude, you can't buy Venezuelan crude -- they have the largest refinery in the world and it refines heavy crude. And now you can't buy Russian crude even under the price cap? Where are they supposed to go?"