US President Donald Trump is trying again to end the war in Ukraine – not by targeting Russia, but by hitting the countries that buy Russia’s oil.
Top of that list? China and India, two of the world’s most important economies.
The US could slap those countries with economic penalties, Trump said, if Russia doesn’t agree to make peace within a 50-day limit.
That could roil not just two of Asia’s biggest markets but, by extension, the entire world, as India and China scramble to shore up supplies and find different oil sources – to avoid potentially hefty US tariffs or other sanctions.
Russia made about $192 billion last year from selling oil, according to the International Energy Agency. Cutting that off could be effective – but also expensive, and not just for Moscow. Oil prices could spike globally if Russia’s more than 7 million exported barrels of oil per day abruptly disappear.
Oil markets haven’t reacted much to Trump’s threat yet, largely because of uncertainty around whether Trump will follow through and, if so, how.
China on Tuesday also appeared unfazed. A spokesperson for its foreign ministry told reporters that “coercion” wouldn’t end conflict in Ukraine. At a media briefing Thursday, an Indian external affairs ministry spokesperson said the government was closely following developments on the issue but called securing energy needs an “overriding priority” and cautioned “against any double standards on the matter.”
