Donald Trump urges NATO to sanction Russia and impose heavy tariffs on China

US President Donald Trump has called on NATO allies to take sweeping collective action to pressure Moscow and end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. In a strongly worded post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump urged NATO nations to stop purchasing Russian oil and to impose heavy tariffs on China—ranging from 50% to 100%—until the war concludes.

Trump stated that the United States is prepared to implement "major sanctions on Russia" but only if all NATO allies commit to similar measures. "I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when?" he wrote, addressing what he described as NATO’s insufficient commitment to the war effort. He criticised several NATO countries for continuing to buy Russian oil, saying it undermines the alliance’s negotiating power with Moscow.

In a letter-style message titled “A Letter Sent by President Donald J. Trump to All NATO Nations and the World”, the former president emphasised that coordinated sanctions and trade measures could rapidly bring an end to the conflict. "This deadly, but



ridiculous, war," Trump wrote, "will end quickly" if his recommendations are followed.

Trump further argued that China holds significant influence over Russia and proposed that high tariffs imposed by NATO on Chinese goods would weaken that influence. These tariffs, he said, should remain in place until the war ends and would be fully lifted once peace is restored.

Criticising the current administration, Trump declared, “This is not Trump’s war (it would never have started if I was President!). It is Biden’s and Zelenskyy’s war.” He claimed over 7,000 lives were lost in the past week alone and that swift, unified action could save thousands more.

Trump concluded his message with a warning to NATO: “If NATO does as I say, the war will end quickly… If not, you are just wasting my time, and the time, energy, and money of the United States.”

The post has sparked renewed debate over NATO's role in the conflict and the West's approach to diplomatic and economic pressure on Russia and China.