Treasury Secretary Urges Europe to Back US Tariffs on Russian Trade Partners

Europe must be ready to join the United States in imposing higher tariffs on China and other countries that buy Russian energy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Aug. 13. In an interview with Bloomberg, Bessent said sanctions on Russia—and nations doing business with it—”can go up” or “can be loosened” depending on the outcome of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, scheduled for Aug. 15. Regardless of how the meeting turns out, he said, Europe should align with the United States on these measures. “We expected that [Putin] would come to the table in a more wholesome way. It looks like he may be ready to negotiate,” Bessent said. “We put secondary tariffs on the Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see if things don’t go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up.”...