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news analysis
The president has threatened more tariffs on Russia and its trading partners and has imposed harsh ones on India and Brazil to try to sway matters of war and politics.
By Edward Wong and Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Edward Wong has reported on international news and diplomacy for The Times for more than two decades. Zolan Kanno-Youngs has covered the White House since 2021.
Aug. 11, 2025, 2:40 p.m. ET
As President Trump pushes to end the war in Ukraine, he is using tariffs to try to persuade Russia to agree to a cease-fire that would halt its invasion.
The economic tool is not often associated with war and peace.
Mr. Trump said last month that Russia’s trading partners could face “very severe tariffs,” in what would be a roundabout way of trying to hurt Moscow.
To show that he means business, Mr. Trump raised tariffs on Wednesday on imports from India to an extraordinary 50 percent, saying he was punishing the country for buying Russian oil. The taxes would be paid by American companies importing goods and would result in higher costs for consumers in the United States.
An Aug. 8 deadline for Russia to agree to a cease-fire came and went, and Mr. Trump did not impose new tariffs on its trading partners. Instead, he announced plans to meet with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Alaska on Friday.
For Mr. Trump, tariffs are not just about raising revenue for the government or protecting American industries from foreign competition. They are a cudgel to try to get other countries to do as he wishes on matters that are entirely separate from trade, and to punish them when they do not. He has used or threatened them on everything from armed conflict to deportations to legal proceedings tied to his political grievances.
Late last month, Mr. Trump raised tariffs on Brazilian goods to 50 percent, with a few exceptions, largely because of a coup-plot case in the country’s Supreme Court against Jair Bolsonaro, the former right-wing president, whom Mr. Trump sees as an ally.
