White House Official Explains Why Russia Isn't On Donald Trump's New Tariffs List
Donald Trump’s new trade crackdown had one eyebrow-raising omission: Russia.
The absence of Russia on the president’s new list of countries that he’ll hit with steep tariffs did not go unnoticed on social media. Critics were quick to accuse Trump of kowtowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Trump has for years expressed his admiration of.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios the reason for Russia’s exclusion was that economic sanctions imposed on the country following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine already “preclude any meaningful trade.”
U.S.-Russia annual trade has been reduced to just $3.5 billion per year.
Cuba, North Korea and top Russia ally Belarus were left off Trump’s new tariffs list for the same reason, said Leavitt.
