President Donald Trump is demanding that the NATO alliance finally deploy its most powerful economic weapon against Russia—a total oil embargo—fully and without exception. He has made the complete and unified use of this “oil weapon” a precondition for further U.S. action.
For months, sanctions against Russian energy have been partial, with exceptions and carve-outs for several NATO members. In a weekend Truth Social post, Trump declared an end to this approach from the U.S. perspective. He will only impose his own “major Sanctions” when the alliance collectively agrees to a complete ban.
The President believes that a partial deployment of the oil weapon is ineffective. By insisting on a total embargo, he is trying to force the alliance to maximize its economic leverage, even if it causes economic pain for some of its own members.
In addition to this, he wants to turn a similar economic weapon on China, suggesting massive tariffs for its role in buying the very oil that he wants NATO to shun. Trump’s entire strategy rests on the belief that overwhelming and unified economic force is the key to victory.