NextFin news, On Monday, September 15, 2025, US President Donald Trump urged the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries to impose powerful tariffs ranging from 50 to 100 percent on Chinese imports. This call was made in Washington, D.C., as part of an effort to pressure China to reduce its trade with Russia, aiming to influence the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Trump's proposal includes not only tariffs but also sanctions targeting the Xi Jinping-led Chinese government, with the intention of forcing China to cut economic ties with Russia. The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated this call during a recent G7 finance ministers' meeting, urging allied countries to join the US in imposing these tariffs.
Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Institute (GTRI), warned that such drastic tariffs would disrupt European industries and fuel inflation across Europe. He highlighted the deep economic interdependence between NATO countries and China, noting that China is a major trading partner for many NATO members, supplying machinery, electronics, textiles, and raw materials essential to European industries.
Trade data shows that China maintains substantial trade volumes with NATO countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Italy. According to the CIA World Factbook, these nations are among China's top NATO trading partners as of 2022. The combined GDP of the 32 NATO member states stands at approximately $65.6 trillion, while China's economy was valued at about $18.7 trillion in 2024, according to World Bank data cited by Trading Economics.
China strongly rejected the US call on Monday, labeling it a "typical act of unilateral bullying" and "economic coercion." Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stated in Beijing that China's normal economic and energy cooperation with countries worldwide, including Russia, is legitimate and lawful. He warned that if China's legitimate rights and interests are harmed, China would take resolute countermeasures to safeguard its sovereignty and development interests.
Lin emphasized that coercion and pressure are ineffective and that dialogue and negotiation remain the only viable solutions to the Ukraine crisis. He also noted that most countries, including the US and European nations, continue to trade with Russia, and that Chinese-Russian commercial exchanges comply with World Trade Organization rules and market principles.
The Chinese government’s response came as Chinese and US delegations met in Spain for the second day of talks on economic and trade issues, underscoring ongoing diplomatic engagement despite tensions.
This development follows President Trump's announcement on Saturday, September 13, 2025, calling on NATO to adopt these tariffs as a strategic move to end the Russia-Ukraine war by economically isolating Russia through its trade partners.
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