The US explains why Russia is not subject to new tariffs.
The White House said Russia was unaffected by the new U.S. tariffs, as talks to end the conflict continue.
According to RIA Novosti, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said in an interview with ABC News on April 6 that Russia is not on the list of new US tariffs, as Washington is currently negotiating with the country to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
"Clearly, there are negotiations going on with Russia and Ukraine, and I think the president has made the decision not to include those two countries in the new tariff list. That doesn't mean Russia will be treated completely differently from any other country," Hassett said.
The White House Director of the National Economic Council stated that the top priority right now is saving lives in the conflict. Therefore, imposing tariffs while trying to achieve peace would be counterproductive.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that no tariffs have been applied to Russia and Belarus. According to Peskov, Russia is not on the list because there are currently no specific figures on trade with the United States. However, he acknowledged that imposing tariffs on other countries would not benefit Russia and that caution is needed to minimize the potential economic consequences of such measures.
On April 2nd, US President Donald Trump shocked the world by announcing tariffs on imports from other countries. The minimum base tariff rate will be 10%. However, virtually every country will face higher tariffs, calculated based on the US trade deficit with that country to achieve a balance.
According to the American leader, imposing tariffs would be a declaration of the independence of the American economy and would help utilize the enormous sums of money needed to pay off the national debt.