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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] On September 13 (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump proposed that NATO impose tariffs of 50–100% on China, claiming that such measures could help bring an end to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Writing on his Truth Social account under the headline “President Donald J. Trump’s Letter to All NATO Members and the World,” Trump said he believes tariffs should remain in place until the war ends, after which they would be fully withdrawn.
“China has strong control and influence over Russia, and these powerful tariffs would break that control,” Trump asserted.
He further emphasized that “once all NATO members agree and act, and simultaneously halt all purchases of Russian oil, I am ready to implement large-scale sanctions against Russia.” Trump criticized NATO’s commitment to victory as falling “far short of 100%” and called it “shocking” that some member states continued to buy Russian oil, undermining their bargaining power.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘start’ whenever you are. Just say when,” Trump wrote.
Trump also reiterated that “this is not Trump’s war (it never would have started if I had been president!). This is Biden’s and Zelensky’s war.” He argued that his only aim is to stop the conflict and save lives, claiming that “7,118 Russians and Ukrainians died just last week—an insane tragedy.”
He concluded by stressing, “If NATO does as I say, the war will end quickly and countless lives will be saved. If not, you are wasting my time, America’s time, energy, and money. Please pay attention to this matter!”
알파경제 Paul Lee 특파원(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
