Why Russia wasn’t on Trump’s tariff list

One country missing from Trump’s list, despite running a trade surplus with the US of $2.5bn: Russia. Why so?

“Trump and Putin are in a sort of bromance right now.”

One country missing from President Trump’s new tariff list, despite running a trade surplus with the U.S. of $2.5 billion: Russia.

The country was left off of a list of dozens that have much smaller trade imbalances with America, but were still slapped with tariffs of up to 50%. Trade between Russia and the U.S. has dropped significantly since the imposition of numerous rounds of sanctions by Washington as punishment for the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Russia still sells enriched uranium and some chemicals to America.

President Trump’s administration is amid a major rapprochement with Moscow that could see the biggest reset in relations since the fall of the Soviet Union. Leaving Russia out of the tariff firing line could give Trump more leverage in his effort toward peace.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News that numerous sanctions on Russia had already precluded meaningful trade. But bilateral trade between the U.S. and Russia stands at $3.5 billion, far larger than other countries which incurred tariffs. Iran, which has similar sanctions and even less trade, was slapped with a 10% tariff. Syria, which is also sanctioned and has very limited trade with the U.S., has tariffs as high as 41%.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

“Excluding Russia from tariffs leaves options open for Trump for a while,” said Alexandra Prokopenko, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin.

Trump has threatened Russia with secondary tariffs on oil if Moscow continues to procrastinate regarding peace. Despite rounds of talks with Washington, the Kremlin has refused to make an unconditional commitment to a ceasefire in the Black Sea. Both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of violating a 30-day ceasefire against energy infrastructure.

The exemption from tariffs could spur Russia to fully commit to the peace process, under the threat of harsher economic consequences.

“Trump and Putin are in a sort of bromance right now,” Prokopenko said. “It seems these ceasefire talks are not going as fast as the Trump administration expected, and they want to have more leverage.” Meanwhile, Russia has worked to normalize economic relations with the U.S., sending Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund, to Washington for talks this week.

The Wall Street Journal