Trump’s Russia threat rings hollow

The reaction to proposed sanctions on Russian oil buyers has been muted, suggesting trader fatigue with Trump’s frequent bold and erratic threats

US President Donald Trump threatened on 15 July to impose secondary sanctions on any country purchasing Russian oil within 50 days unless a peace deal is reached to end the conflict in Ukraine, potentially impacting up to 4.7m b/d of global oil supply. In a less chaotic era of US foreign policy, such an announcement might have triggered a sharp reaction in oil markets, given it affects nearly 5% of global supply. The threat coincided with the Trump administration’s announcement of new weapons deliveries to Ukraine on the same day, marking a significant policy shift and highlighting the president’s apparent growing frustration with the Kremlin over stalled peace negotiations.  Instead, the ma