Trump tariff threat helps Putin as Russian stock market gains; NATO allies to pay for US weapons supply to Ukraine

Time of India

a day ago

US President Donald Trump on Monday, July 14, 2025, issued a strong ultimatum to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and threatened Moscow with steep tariffs. The latest steps against Russia came as Trump, who vowed to end the Russia-Ukraine war swiftly, announced a fresh supply of American weapons to Ukraine. The US president has hardened his stance toward Moscow, fueled by his irritation with Putin after months of unsuccessful negotiations for ending the war.
But things in Moscow didn't turn out to be as bad as predicted. The Russian stock exchange (Moscow Exchange, or MOEX) recorded a rise of 2.7 percent despite the tariff warning. Trump said he would implement 'severe tariffs' unless a peace deal is reached within 50 days. He described them as secondary tariffs, meaning they would target Russia's trading partners to isolate Moscow in the global economy. Also, if Trump's new move becomes a reality, it may hit Russia's war chest.
As far as the weapon deal is concerned, the US President stated that he has finalized an agreement with NATO allies for large-scale arms deliveries to Ukraine. The weapons include Patriot missiles. After a meeting with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, the US president said that they had agreed 'a very big deal,' in which 'billions of dollars' worth of military equipment is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO … And that's going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.'
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Speaking in the White House alongside Rutte, Trump said the arms deliveries would be comprehensive and would include the Patriot missile batteries. 'It's everything: it's Patriots. It's all of them. It's a full complement, with the batteries,' the US president said. He clearly stated that the weapons would be entirely paid for by Washington's European allies and that initial missile deliveries would come 'within days' from European stocks, on the understanding they would be replenished with US supplies.
At the White House, Trump said the deal was 'fully approved, fully done.' 'We'll send them a lot of weapons of all kinds, and they're going to deliver those weapons immediately … and they're going to pay,' he said.
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Why is Moscow less worried about Trump's fresh tariff threat
The tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets had warned that Russia and the US are moving towards a new round of confrontation over Ukraine, and Trump's tariffs announced on Monday will not be pleasant for our country, according to the BBC.
But despite the fresh tariff threat looming large, Moscow is not much bothered. This is probably because it was anticipating a much harder step from Washington, the BBC reported. The threat was not pleasant, but Russia is relieved because the secondary tariffs against Russia's trading partners will only kick in 50 days from now, and by that time, Moscow can come up with counterproposals and delay the implementation of sanctions even further.
According to the Russian news agency TASS, the country's stock market has accelerated in its growth during the trading session on the Moscow Exchange amid recent statements of US President Donald Trump. The MOEX Russia Index gained 2.73% to 2,714.16 points. The RTS Index added 2.09% to 1,090.07 points.
Russian rouble rises
The Russian rouble reversed losses against the dollar and rose against China's yuan after Trump announced secondary tariffs on Russia. As of 1605 GMT, the rouble was 0.2% weaker at 78.10 per U.S. dollar after hitting 78.75 during the day, according to LSEG data based on over-the-counter quotes, according to news agency Reuters. The rouble is up about 45% against the dollar since the start of the year.
Against the Chinese yuan, the most traded foreign currency in Russia, the rouble strengthened 0.8% to 10.87 after weakening by over 1% on Friday.