Trump’s new 100% tariff on Russian oil buyers could devastate Hungary’s economy

American President Donald Trump has announced a potential 100% tariff on all countries importing Russian oil, setting a strict 50-day deadline for President Putin to end the military operations in Ukraine. If no ceasefire is reached, these tariffs would be enforced as a “secondary” economic sanction.

Trump would introduce 100% tariff on Russian oil

According to Világgazdaság, Trump expressed deep dissatisfaction with Putin’s reluctance to negotiate peace and declared that, beyond economic sanctions, he would escalate support for Ukraine by providing additional weapons, though Kyiv would be responsible for the cost. This signals a tough new phase in U.S. strategy against Russia.

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This policy would severely impact Hungary’s economy since it imports Russian crude oil through the Friendship pipeline across Ukraine. Hungary’s energy giant, MOL, profits substantially from processing cheap Russian crude, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in extra revenue; money that significantly bolsters the Hungarian state budget since they must pay 95% of it as a windfall tax. Without this windfall, PM Orbán’s government may face considerable challenges in securing victory in the 2026 elections.

FM Szijjártó hopes Trump’s peace efforts will succeed

The Hungarian government hopes that US President Donald Trump’s peace efforts in Ukraine will succeed in the coming weeks, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Brussels on Tuesday. At a press conference during a break in an EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, Szijjártó was asked to comment on Trump’s threat of imposing tariffs against Russia if no peace agreement is reached in Ukraine within 50 days.

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Szijjártó said no one had done more for peace in Ukraine than Trump, for which the president deserved respect and praise. “I think it is clear that if European politicians and Ukrainian politicians had not hindered the peace efforts, they could have been successful by now,” he said, according to a ministry statement.

“We hope and trust that Donald Trump’s efforts will succeed in the next fifty days, and bring about a ceasefire and the possibility of peace talks in Ukraine, and then this issue will no longer be relevant in fifty days,” he added. “We are all hopeful and thank Donald Trump for his efforts so far and hope that his efforts will bring results in the coming weeks,” he said.