The Ultimate Leverage? Trump Bets on China Tariffs to End War

President Donald Trump is betting that he has found the ultimate leverage to end the war in Ukraine: the threat of crippling, NATO-wide tariffs against China. This novel idea is the most dramatic part of a new strategy he believes will force a peaceful resolution.
While his demand for a NATO oil ban on Russia is an escalation of existing policies, the proposal to collectively punish China is a game-changer. In a post on Truth Social, he suggested tariffs of “50% to 100%,” a level that could severely damage the Chinese economy and global supply chains.
Trump explicitly linked this leverage to the conflict’s end, stating the tariffs should be “fully withdrawn after the war… is ended.” This transforms the trade measure into a massive bargaining chip, giving the West a powerful new tool to influence not just Moscow, but also its most important international partner.
By shifting the focus to China, Trump is gambling that the key to peace in Kyiv lies in Beijing. He believes that by making China’s economic support for Russia prohibitively expensive, the alliance can achieve a strategic breakthrough that has so far been elusive.