Japan's Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato rejected a US call to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine by imposing higher tariffs on Russian oil imports for China and India, UNN reports with reference to Bloomberg.
Japan has committed under the World Trade Organization not to apply tariffs beyond established limits and to treat all member countries fairly, as long as other countries adhere to their obligations under WTO agreements.
"It would be difficult for us to raise tariffs, say, by 50%, solely on the grounds that a particular country imports oil from Russia," he added.
Let's add
Kato's comments came after G7 countries discussed sanctions against Russia at an online meeting on Friday. During the meeting, the US urged its G7 allies to consider imposing tariffs of up to 100% on China and India over their continued purchases of Russian oil.
The finance minister's remarks indicate that Tokyo remains cautious about participating in raising tariffs for countries trading with Russia, especially given that Japan itself continues to import oil and liquefied natural gas from the neighboring country.
"We are considering the most effective forms of pressure and are closely coordinating with our G7 partners," Kato said, referring to possible measures to prevent Russian aggression against Ukraine.
According to a source familiar with the situation, G7 representatives are currently working on a new package of sanctions and plan to finalize it within the next two weeks.
Context
The US proposal is another example of how the Donald Trump administration is increasingly using tariffs as a tool to achieve political goals and encouraging trading partners to follow suit.
Under the proposal, the plan envisages the introduction of 50-100% secondary tariffs on goods from China and India, as well as restrictive trade measures on both imports and exports to limit the flow of Russian energy and prevent the transfer of dual-use technologies to Russia.
Trump also stated his readiness to impose "serious" sanctions on Russian energy exports if NATO countries follow suit. While many European countries have reduced or stopped importing Russian oil, some NATO members, including Hungary, have opposed tougher EU proposals targeting the Russian energy sector.