Bessent warns China against buying sanctioned Russian oil: US may impose tariffs
The day before, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Chinese officials that continued purchases of sanctioned Russian oil could lead to tariffs.
He said this at a press conference at the end of two days of trade talks between the United States and China in Stockholm, Censor.NET reports citingSuspilne.
Bessent explained that the bill in the US Congress allows Trump to levy tariffs of up to 500% on countries that buy sanctioned Russian oil, which could prompt US allies to take similar steps to reduce Russian energy revenues.
"So I think anyone who buys Russian oil that is under sanctions should be prepared for that," Bessent said.
According to the US minister, Chinese officials responded that China is a sovereign nation with energy needs, and oil purchases will be based on the country's domestic policies.
"The Chinese take their sovereignty very seriously. We don't want to interfere with their sovereignty, so they would like to pay 100% duty," Bessent said.
In particular, Bessent expressed US dissatisfaction with China's continued purchases of sanctioned Iranian oil, as well as the sale of more than $15 billion worth of dual-use technology to Russia, which contributed to Moscow's war against Ukraine.
He emphasized that he had warned his counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, that China's continued sale of goods to Russia, which are ultimately used for weapons production, would harm its efforts to strengthen trade ties with Europe.
Earlier, Censor.NET reported that the United States and China plan to extend the "tariff truce".
