Donald Trump’s new commerce crackdown had one eyebrow-raising omission: Russia.
The absence of Russia on the president’s new listing of nations that he’ll hit with steep tariffs didn’t go unnoticed on social media. Critics had been fast to accuse Trump of kowtowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Trump has for years expressed his admiration of.
White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios the rationale for Russia’s exclusion was that financial sanctions imposed on the nation following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine already “preclude any significant commerce.”
U.S.-Russia annual commerce has been reduced to simply $3.5 billion per 12 months.
Cuba, North Korea and high Russia ally Belarus had been left off Trump’s new tariffs listing for a similar cause, said Leavitt.
