Vladislav Grigoriev14:00, 03.04.25

Even American politicians are outraged by Trump’s decision.

Yesterday, April 2, US President Donald Trump announced the introduction of reciprocal tariffs that will affect almost all countries in the world. Interestingly, Russia was not included in the list, but there is an explanation for this, writes Newsweek .

It is noted that the White House has repeatedly said that the United States has almost no trade with Russia due to sanctions imposed against Moscow. However, analysts believe that the absence of Russia from the list of countries to which Trump’s reciprocal tariffs apply is an omission.

“I think it just highlights that Trump is desperately trying to please Putin. It’s strange on many levels,” Timothy Ash, an emerging markets strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, told reporters.

The publication recalled that under the Joe Biden administration, the US imposed tough sanctions against Russia for the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Even before Trump took office, there were fears that the current US president would ease pressure on Moscow.

“We are not trading with Russia and Belarus because of sanctions,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant.

Trump recently warned that he would impose tariffs on Russia if Russian dictator Vladimir Putin obstructed the US plan to end the war in Ukraine. But the exclusion of Russia from the list of countries that would be subject to the new tariffs has drawn criticism even from American politicians.

For example, The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump organization founded by former Republican strategists, hinted in its statement that Trump thus confirmed that he was leaning more toward Russia than Ukraine, which is on the list, the publication emphasized.

Former Democratic Majority Leader in the Suffolk County Legislature in New York, John Cooper, wrote on his X social media page:

“Can someone explain to me why Russia is almost the only country, if not the ONLY one, that is exempt from Trump’s tariffs?”

In addition, former US ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul is outraged by Trump’s decision. He added that the American people deserve an explanation. Republican Adam Kinzinger was also surprised that reciprocal US tariffs will not be applied to Russia.

The publication recalled that Trump has imposed minimum 10% tariffs on US imports from 180 countries. Corresponding duties have also been imposed on goods from other countries and regions, including Europe, Japan and China.

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