Trump announces NATO-funded arms for Ukraine, warns Russia of 100% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose 100% “secondary tariffs” on Russia if no peace deal is reached in Ukraine within 50 days, reports a Kazinform News Agency correspondent. The statement was made during a White House meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday.
“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days,” Trump said. “Tariffs at about 100%, you’d call them secondary tariffs.” He warned that the U.S. would act unilaterally if diplomacy fails and expressed readiness for further talks on tariffs with the European Union.
Trump also revealed a new NATO-backed agreement to supply Ukraine with additional weapons.
“We will produce the weapons, but they will pay for them: we will pay nothing,” he said, referring to European partners.
Rutte called the deal “a very important agreement, which will allow Ukraine to have what it needs to defend itself.” Trump confirmed that the first Patriot missile systems will be sent to Ukraine “within a few days,” noting that one country holding 17 batteries “won’t need them for their own needs.”
Trump added that Ukraine “will do what needs to be done” and stressed that the “next problem” will be postwar reconstruction, which “will take a long time.”
Earlier, it was reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a White House dinner with President Trump, announced that he had nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.