President Donald Trump excluded Russia and North Korea from his “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement Wednesday, leaving many wondering why he would discipline allies like the European Union, but not others.
A White House official told the Washington Examiner that both North Korea and Russia already face extremely high tariffs and sanctions by the United States, so the additional tariffs were unnecessary.
Russia is currently under 28,595 different Western sanctions.
However, trade between Russia and the United States is not nonexistent. In 2024, $3.5 billion worth of goods were traded between the United States and Russia. Goods imported from Russia to the United States in 2024 declined by 34.2% from 2023. In 2021, prior to Russia invading Ukraine, the United States and Russia traded between $36 billion in goods.
While Russia may not be hit with reciprocal tariffs, there is concern from the Kremlin that the reciprocal tariffs could cause a global slowdown, resulting in a hit in their oil prices.
Earlier this year, the Russian central bank warned that the United States and OPEC could flood the oil market. In the 1980s, the oversupply and weak demand of oil caused a price collapse, which ultimately led to the fall of the Soviet Union.
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Meanwhile, North Korea does not export any goods to the United States, but North Korea did import $183,000 in goods from the United States.
Trump unveiled a minimum of 10% reciprocal tariff rate on dozens of countries on April 2, dubbed “Liberation Day.” China is among the countries with the highest tariff rate with a 34% tariff implemented on top of an already imposed 20% tariff on goods for a total of 54% tariff.