Kateryna Hirnyk06:24, 03.04.25

The US still trades more with Russia than with some of the countries on the tariff list.

US President Donald Trump has imposed unprecedented new tariffs on a number of countries, with a minimum rate of 10%, including Ukraine . However, the list does not include countries such as Russia, North Korea, and Belarus.

The White House has already provided an explanation for this exclusion. As spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt told Axios , Russia was left out because US sanctions already “preclude any meaningful trade.”

At the same time, as the publication notes, the US still trades more with Russia than with some of the countries on Trump’s tariff list, such as Mauritius or Brunei.

In particular, even remote and virtually uninhabited territories such as Tokelau (population 1,500) in the South Pacific and Spitsbergen (population 2,500) beyond the Arctic Circle – territories of New Zealand and Norway, respectively – were included in the list.

At the same time, the list did not include, for example, Cuba, Belarus, and North Korea.

As Leavitt noted, the reason is that the existing tariffs and sanctions against them are already “too high.”

At the same time, she said, Russia could still face “additional tough sanctions.”

Two other major economies removed from Trump’s list are Canada and Mexico. Leavitt confirmed that this is because Trump has already imposed 25% tariffs on both countries.

Axios recalls that the value of trade between the US and Russia fell sharply from approximately $35 billion in 2021 to $3.5 billion last year.

Trump’s new tariffs

Trump has announced unprecedented tariffs on goods from other countries. For example, a 25% tariff has been imposed on all foreign-made cars and parts imported into the United States. The tariffs on cars will take effect on April 3, and on parts a little later.

Tariffs on goods from China will be 34%, from EU countries – 20%, from Switzerland – 31%. Minimum tariffs for other countries from the US will be 10%.

(C) UNIAN 2025