President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced yesterday customs duties affecting 185 countries. The absence of Russia on Trump’s list drew attention. Under the executive order signed by President Donald Trump, tariffs were anticipated to be imposed on 185 trading partners of the country. Trump announced today that the United States would apply reciprocal tariffs to other countries starting from today, with a basic tariff rate of 10 percent. While the new list of customs duties includes 185 trading partners of the US, Russia was not included in this list. White House spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, stated in an interview with the US-based news site Axios that Russia was not included in the list due to the significant trade already being hindered by US sanctions against Russia.

TRADE REDUCED TO 3.5 BILLION DOLLARS According to data from the US Department of Commerce, trade between Russia and the US significantly decreased compared to before the Ukraine-Russia War. The trade volume between the two countries, which was approximately 36 billion dollars in 2021, dropped to around 3.5 billion dollars in 2024. In addition to the existing sanctions against Russia, Trump had recently threatened to impose punitive customs duties on Russian oil buyers. The US imported more goods from Russia last year than from Ukraine. In 2024, goods worth approximately 3 billion dollars were imported from Russia to the US, while imports worth around 1.2 billion dollars were made from Ukraine.