On Apr. 3, President Donald Trump announced new tariffs with a minimum 10% levy on nearly all countries, excluding Russia.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt explained that existing US sanctions on Russia “preclude any meaningful trade,” making additional tariffs unnecessary.

Other heavily sanctioned nations like Cuba, Belarus, and North Korea were also left out, while remote territories such as Tokelau and Svalbard were affected.

Despite sanctions, US-Russia trade remains higher than with Mauritius and Brunei, though it has dropped significantly, from US$35 billion in 2021 to US$3.5 billion last year.

Moscow has pushed for sanctions relief in ceasefire talks, but progress has been limited.

Trump recently threatened secondary tariffs on Russian oil and expressed frustration with President Vladimir Putin’s remarks on Ukraine. Leavitt warned that Russia still faces the risk of “additional strong sanctions” in the future.

Canada and Mexico were the only major economies exempt from the new tariffs. However, Leavitt confirmed they are already subject to existing 25% tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.