Why is Russia missing from Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff list?
US President Donald Trump has widely used tariffs, with additional high rates targeting around 60 countries, implementing minimum 10% levy on almost all countries worldwide. In particular, Russia was missing from the list of countries.
During his announcement, Trump made a list of about 50 countries, with details of each tariff on the United States and the US mutual duties will be slapped. In particular, while several countries were included, Russia’s name was absent from the list.
When questioned, Press Secretary Karolin Levit explained to Ex -Russian that Russia’s lapse was due to the current US sanctions that “stops any meaningful trade”.
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Nevertheless, America’s trade quantity with Russia includes many involved nations, such as Mauritius and Brunei.
The tariff list was remarkably broad, including the Arctic Circle included small areas such as the Toclau (pop 1,500) in the South Pacific and Swalbard (pop. 2,500), which belong to New Zealand and Norway respectively. Levit clarified that Cuba, Belarus and North Korea were also excluded due to high tariffs and restrictions already existing.
The US-Russian trade figures showed a decline of $ 35 billion to $ 35 billion from $ 35 billion to $ 3.5 billion last year from $ 35 billion in 2021 after Russia’s Ukraine’s invasion of Ukraine invasion.
America and Russia improved relations
Recently, the US was seen siding with Russia in the international organization. To surprise everyone, the US supported Russia in UNGA. The US voted against the European-Draft resolution condemning Moscow’s actions and supporting Ukraine’s regional integrity.
And then at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Russia and the United States approved an American-supported resolution, calling for a rapid end for conflict, which avoided labeling Russia as aggressive or accepted the regional integrity of Ukraine.
Trump wants more business with Russia: Report
According to a report by Forbes, Trump is demanding a increased trade relations with Russia, implementing tariffs to limit trade with other countries.
Economic experts throw light on the fact that Canada, Mexico and Europe offer much more commercial possibilities than Russia. They challenge the logic behind Trump’s tariff strategy to reduce trade deficit.
In particular, the United States has historically maintained adequate trade deficit with Russia, Trump’s favorite trading partner.
After a telephone discussion between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on March 18, 2025, the White House announced, “The two leaders agreed that there is a heavy upside -down in the future with a better bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia. This included a heavy economic deal and geopolitical stability when peace is achieved.”
Trump often discuss potential trade systems with Russia and consider restricting restrictions, including Russia’s constant Ukrainian invasion and non-mentioned human rights violations, including civil targeting and kidnapping of about 20,000 Ukrainian children.
The analysis of US-Russia trade data reveals two important points. First, bilateral trade volumes are relatively modest, about $ 3.5 billion in 2024 and $ 36 billion in 2021. Comparatively, the US-Canada trade reached $ 762 billion in 2024.
The United States maintains considerable trade deficit with Russia, opposing Trump’s stance on trade imbalances with other countries. Prior to Russia’s Ukraine invasion, the 2021 figures export us to $ 6.4 billion against the $ 29.6 billion imports, causing a $ 23 billion loss. Similar patterns appear in other years, which mainly include chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, while importing oil, chemicals and metals.
Experts indicate that Russia presents an adverse and potential dangerous environment for international businesses.
During the US-medieval ceasefire discussion, which has now stopped to a large extent, Russia requested Trump to reduce some restrictions. Trump recently threatened Russia with secondary oil tariffs and expressed anger towards Vladimir Putin about his Ukraine’s statements.
Livit indicated “additional strong sanctions” against Russia.
In particular, Canada and Mexico were also absent from Trump’s broad tariff list. Levit confirmed that it was due to the current 25% tariff in the two countries.
