The United States continues to trade with Russia more than with some countries included in the new tariff lists. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed unprecedented tariffs on many countries, including Ukraine, with a minimum rate of 10%. Meanwhile, countries such as Russia, North Korea, and Belarus were excluded from the list.
This is reported by Finway
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt explained that Russia was left out due to existing U.S. sanctions that “exclude any significant trade.” Interestingly, despite this, the U.S. continues to have a larger trade volume with Russia than with some countries included in Trump’s tariff list, such as Mauritius or Brunei.
The tariff list even includes remote territories like Tokelau, with a population of 1,500, and Svalbard, with a population of 2,500, which belong to New Zealand and Norway, respectively. At the same time, Cuba, Belarus, and North Korea remained unaffected by the tariff restrictions.
“The reason is that the existing tariffs and sanctions against them are already ‘too high,'” Levitt noted.
Levitt also emphasized that Russia could face “additional harsh sanctions” in the future. Other major economies, such as Canada and Mexico, were also excluded from Trump’s tariff list since they already have 25% tariffs imposed on them.
It is worth noting that trade volume between the U.S. and Russia sharply decreased from approximately $35 billion in 2021 to $3.5 billion last year.
Trump’s New Tariffs on Imports
Trump announced the introduction of significant tariffs on foreign goods. In particular, a 25% tariff on all imported cars and parts will take effect on April 3. Tariffs on parts will come into effect somewhat later. For goods from China, tariffs will be 34%, from EU countries — 20%, from Switzerland — 31%, and the minimum tariffs for other countries will be 10%.