The US President Donald Trump announced comprehensive tariffs on enterprises of 185 countries worldwide. Notably, Russia and Belarus are conspicuously absent from the list. Why is that?

Trump released a list of countries and regions subject to reciprocal tariffs on April 3, Thursday, covering 185 countries globally. However, surprisingly, a very small number of countries were excluded from the list - including Russia and Belarus, but not Ukraine.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Beasant told Fox News in an interview that there was no trade between the US and Russia due to existing sanctions against Russia. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US and other countries (mainly European countries) imposed further sanctions on Russia. White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt emphasized that US sanctions have prevented "any meaningful trade" with Russia. But is this really the case?

What does the US import from Russia?

According to US Census Bureau data, the volume of goods trade between the US and Russia has significantly decreased since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine: from approximately $36 billion in 2021 to about $3.5 billion in 2024.

Therefore, Beasant's claim that "there is no trade with Russia" does not hold true. Although the quantity of goods imported from Russia is not large, they are strategically important materials for the US, such as fertilizers and inorganic chemicals.

Despite the current trade volume being far below pre-war levels, this cannot fully explain why Trump did not include Russia in the tariff list.

For instance, the US imposes a 27% tariff on imports from Kazakhstan, whose trade volume with the US is roughly equivalent to that of Russia: around $3.4 billion, of which $2.3 billion is imported from the US. The trade volume with Ukraine is lower, at around $290 million, of which $120 million is imported, yet Ukraine is included in Trump's tariff list and subject to a 10% punitive tariff.

Tariffs on uninhabited islands, but no Belarus

Although other sanctioned countries, including Venezuela, are on Trump's new tariff list, similarly sanctioned countries like Russia, North Korea, Cuba, and Belarus are exempt. "This appears to be a symbolic gesture of leniency," commented political scholar and US expert Alexandra Filippenko.

The US has not disclosed bilateral trade figures with North Korea, Cuba, and Belarus. However, according to UN estimates, the annual bilateral trade between the US and Belarus amounts to tens of millions of dollars. For example, in 2024, the US imported approximately $21 million worth of goods from Belarus.

Thus, it can be inferred that the criteria for formulating this tariff list are not entirely based on the scale of trade with a country. One example is that even uninhabited islands like Heard Island and McDonald Islands (Australian overseas territories in the southern Indian Ocean) are included in the list, despite almost no substantial trade between these areas and the US.

Another noteworthy phenomenon is that Canada and Mexico are not included in the new tariff list. However, it should be noted that most of the goods imported from these two countries are already subject to a 25% tariff.

Why did Trump not impose tariffs on Russia?

Filippenko believes that excluding Russia from the tariff list is a clear political signal: improving relations with Moscow is a top priority. "The Russian authorities have read this political signal," she pointed out. Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev is currently visiting Washington and posted on Telegram that restoring dialogue between the US and Russia is a "difficult and gradual process," and both sides are prepared to establish cooperation in international affairs and the economic sector.

Nina Khrushcheva, professor of political science at The New School, also believes that Trump's non-imposition of tariffs on Russia may be related to diplomatic contacts between the two countries. "I think the US will apply pressure on Russia in other ways, but imposing tariffs during Dmitriev's visit would be inappropriate," she said in an interview with DW. Khrushcheva added that the Trump administration could still impose additional tariffs on Russia in the future if it wishes.

Oleg Buklemishev, director of the Center for Economic Policy Research at Moscow State University, also believes that the non-imposition of additional tariffs on Russia is purely for political considerations - despite Washington's claim that US-Russia bilateral trade is "insignificant."

However, Buklemishev pointed out that the US is still importing materials from Russia such as nuclear fuel, fertilizers, and platinum metals. Imposing high tariffs on these goods could lead to rising energy prices in the US, which runs counter to Trump's policy goals.

He also emphasized that the current trade volume between the US and Russia is far below that of Europe or China with Russia, and even falls short of pre-war levels.

As for whether trade volumes could return to previous levels in the future, Buklemishev stated: "Even if US-Russia relations ease, it will not be possible to restore trade to previous levels. Financial, logistical, and sanction restrictions will remain, and China has already partially taken over the Russian market."

Source: DW

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7489855160664064512/

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