US lied about not trading with Russia – Le Monde
3 April 2025 15:21
The United States is hiding the true extent of trade with Russia and using false excuses to exclude it from the new list of countries subject to the Trump administration’s customs restrictions. This was reported by the French edition of Le Monde, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Trump’s tariffs for everyone but Russia
on April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the introduction of “mirror” tariffs against almost all countries of the world. These tariffs, according to the White House, will be half of the tariff that a particular country has imposed on US goods. For example, China allegedly imposes a 67% tariff on US goods, so the US has imposed a 34% tariff on Chinese goods.
For those countries that do not impose special duties on American goods, a basic tariff of 10% was introduced.
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Interestingly, the comparative table released by the White House provides data on tariffs against 185 countries, but Russia is not on the list.
In response to this remark, the White House told reporters that the introduction of tariffs against Russia is not necessary, as there is no trade with Russia due to sanctions.
It is worth noting that at the same time, Washington imposed tariffs against the Gerd and Macdonald Islands, with which the United States also does not trade, as only penguins and seals live there.
Trade is ongoing
However, according to Le Monde, the US administration simply lied – the real figures show that the United States is trading with Russia. According to the publication, the trade turnover between the US and Russia in 2024 amounted to about $3.5 billion. This, for example, is significantly higher than the volume of trade with countries such as Mauritius and Brunei, which, unlike Russia, have been subject to new customs restrictions.
According to Les Décodeurs analysts, if Russia were included in the list, it would be subject to 42% of customs duties, and Belarus, which is also not on the list, would have to pay 24%.
The US traded $4.4 billion with Ukraine in 2024, and Ukraine received its 10% tariff from the US.
The information that the US did not impose tariffs on Russia came amid reports of a meeting in Washington between US Special Representative Steve Witkoff and Russian peace negotiator Kirill Dmitriev.
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