Trump did not impose tariffs against Russia, Belarus and North Korea: NYT learned the reason.

US President Donald Trump is not imposing tariffs against Russia, Belarus and North Korea.

This was reported by a White House representative in a conversation with The New York Times.

Trump's list of tariffs includes 184 countries and territories, as well as the European Union, but Russia, North Korea, Cuba and Belarus are absent.

These countries are not subject to the announced tariffs, as they already face extremely high rates, and our previously imposed sanctions exclude any significant trade with these countries

The US Treasury explained the absence of Russia from Trump's list by stating that the US allegedly does not trade with the Russian Federation. However, mutual trade between the countries has decreased since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but in 2024 Russia exported goods worth at least $3.5 billion to the US. This figure is higher than that of Mauritius or Brunei, which made it to Trump's list. Also, Trump included Iran on his list despite numerous US sanctions.

Additionally, Trump imposed tariffs on goods from Heard and McDonald Islands, even though these islands are uninhabited.

Stricter restrictions apply to states that have unfair trade relations with the US. Ukraine and the UK must pay 10% tariffs, the European Union - 20%, China - 34%, Bangladesh - 37%, Japan - 24%, Israel - 17%, and other countries.

Trump announced the introduction of a new 'reciprocal tariff' system, which establishes higher tariffs on imports for the main trading partners of the US.

Analysis

The news states that Trump did not impose tariffs against Russia, Belarus and North Korea, as they already have high rates and sanctions. Also, the absence of Russia from the list is explained by the claim that the US allegedly does not trade with it, but the facts tell a different story. Regarding other states, Trump set strict tariffs depending on trade relations with the US.