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EU unlikely to increase tariffs against India and China on Trump's request

EU sources say that the European Union will not impose tariffs on India and China, which are the two main buyers of Russian crude oil, as the U.S. president Donald Trump has asked the bloc to.

This week, an EU delegation including the EU's Russia sanction chief flew to Washington to discuss the ways in which the two sides could coordinate sanctions against Russia for its full-scale invasion into Ukraine.

Officials have said that Trump has urged the EU, to hit India and China up to 100% with tariffs to put pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin who depends on energy revenues for his country's conflict in Ukraine.

The European Commission has not responded to a comment request.

The European Union has placed extensive sanctions against Russia

In its last package, published in July, it also included two Chinese banks and a major Indian refinery.

Sources said that the EU does not treat tariffs the same as sanctions, and only imposes these after a lengthy investigation to establish a legal basis.

So far, the bloc has only imposed tariffs on Russian and Belarusian farm products and fertilizers in response to the Ukraine War. It was argued that the tariffs were necessary to avoid creating a dependency which could be exploited, and to protect EU fertiliser producers.

An EU diplomat stated that there has been no discussion about possible tariffs with India or China.

The EU is also in the process of finalizing a trade agreement with India that the bloc will not want to compromise.

Trump's position towards India appeared to soften by Wednesday when he stated that he wanted to reset the trade relations with New Delhi.

A second EU source stated that such tariffs are risky, and they could be too broad. It is easier to sanction certain entities and to open the door for them to be delisted if they stop doing business with Russia.

Until now, the EU has only listed small, unknown entities that are often shell companies, used by Russia to funnel military goods or dual-use products to its military.

The EU plans to list Chinese refineries and banks from two countries in central Asia in its 19th set of sanctions, which could come as early as Friday. (Reporting and editing by Ros Russell, Philip Blenkinsop and Julia Payne)

(source: Reuters)