WASHINGTON, August 8. /TASS/. Secondary sanctions against importers of Russian oil will hit the American economy and the political ambitions of US President Donald Trump, Reuters stated.
As the agency wrote, Washington's adoption of such measures will entail side effects for the United States, causing an increase in oil prices, complicating the prospects for the Trump administration to conclude trade agreements with India and China.
"You’ve got two major oil importers that can kind of dig in their heels and push back, knowing what the U.S. needs out of them," Kimberly Donovan, a former U.S. Treasury official, now director of the Economic Statecraft Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center, told Reuters.
She noted that after the introduction of tariffs, it will be much more difficult for Washington to conclude deals with Beijing and New Delhi.
The article stressed that the introduction of sanctions and duties on oil importers from Russia and the associated costs in the form of rising prices for imported goods in the United States could create political difficulties for Trump, especially ahead of the midterm elections in the United States, when the entire House of Representatives of the US Congress and a third of the Senate are being re-elected.
On July 14, Trump said that he was giving 50 days to reach agreements on a settlement around Ukraine, after which he intended to introduce trade tariffs of 100% against Moscow and its trading partners. On July 29, the American leader made a statement that he was reducing this period to 10 days, noting that he did not know whether such a step would affect Russia's position. On August 6, the United States imposed additional duties of 25% on India in connection with its purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products.