The "reciprocal tariff" of the Trump administration has caused chaos all over the world, but the "reciprocal tariff" targeting America's global trade partners "missed" four countries: Russia, Belarus, Cuba, and North Korea. The peace talks between Russia and Ukraine are at a critical stage, and Russia's "absence" from America's tariff list is bound to provoke speculation.
Recently, the Russian Eurasian Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Social Sciences Academic Press jointly released the "Russia Blue Book: Development Report on Russia (2024)". Xu Puling, director of the Russian Economic Division of the Russian Eurasian Institute, told Beijing Daily Client reporters that according to the U.S. side's own explanation, the "reciprocal tariff" does not include Russia because the current U.S.-Russia trade volume is very small, and also because the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia and the improvement of U.S.-Russia relations are ongoing, and they do not want tariffs to impact these processes.
"These are all surface reasons; there are actually deeper reasons," Xu Puling said. Trump has always been resentful of Biden and other American leaders for pushing Russia closer to China, viewing it as a strategic error. Trump hopes to create fissures between China and Russia, further increasing pressure on China. From the Russian perspective, the most pressing issues currently are the security of its western borders and economic development. In Russia's view, achieving economic development requires cooperation with the new global economic center, which means cooperating with China. Cooperation with China is irreplaceably important for Russia, and Trump's attempt to drive a wedge between China and Russia cannot succeed.
Xu Puling pointed out that it must be noted that as the Ukrainian conflict gradually moves toward a ceasefire in the future, Russia's strategic space will expand, and Russia's one-sided reliance on China will show a downward trend, which is a natural process. As an independent and autonomous country, pragmatic cooperation with China is a strategic choice for Russia, and there are still many new fields and directions worth exploring in future Sino-Russian economic and trade cooperation.
Xu Puling said that the U.S. "reciprocal tariff" will completely change the global trade system and governance order. The Trump administration found that it could no longer achieve its goals within multilateral frameworks and thus tried to force compliance from trading partners through bilateral frameworks using its strength. At present, Trump's "maximum pressure" approach is likely still unable to restore America's advantage in the global trade system.
Source: Beijing Daily Client
Reporter: Bai Bo
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/749303230212399627/
Disclaimer: This article only represents the views of the author. Welcome to express your opinions by clicking the "thumbs up/thumbs down" button below.