US President Donald Trump’s April 2 announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on imports from 185 countries, which have since been temporarily paused, sent ripples through the international trading system. More broadly, the administration’s approach to tariffs since taking office has caused global market volatility, especially the escalating back and forth over tariffs between the United States and China. But while the Trump administration has targeted most countries in the world with tariffs, some key players were left off the chopping block—most notably Russia.
The Trump administration has raised tariffs against major trading partners such as China, and framed these steps as protecting US economic and security interests. But so far, Russia has been left off the US tariff regime despite the clear threats that it poses to US security interests.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine has killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians and displaced millions, marking Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. Russia’s destruction of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine has been widespread and systematic, including the targeting of hospitals, residential buildings, schools, and critical infrastructure. Torture, apparent war crimes, and the kidnapping of thousands of Ukrainian children have marked a multifaceted terror campaign waged by the Kremlin against a sovereign country, threatening the rules-based international order and the security of the region.
The Trump administration has justified the lack of tariffs on Russia as due to existing sanctions imposed by the United States over Putin’s war in Ukraine. These sanctions, added during the Biden administration, significantly reduced trade between the two nations. In 2021, before many of the sanctions were in place, US-Russia trade was $35 billion. Last year, due to the restrictions, US-Russia trade amounted to only $3.5 billion.
“Russia and Belarus, we don’t trade with. They’re sanctioned,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on April 2. But that overlooks the fact that the United States does import enriched uranium and other goods from Russia. North Korea and Cuba were also exempted from reciprocal tariffs, but not Iran, another heavily sanctioned country that was subjected to 10 percent tariffs. Moreover, both Iran and Russia are in the middle of negotiations with the United States over different issues, which logically negates a potential justification that the Trump administration did not put tariffs on Russia because of cease-fire talks.
The volume of US-Russia bilateral trade, although low, is still markedly higher than that of other countries that have fallen under the Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs. Lesotho was initially hit with 50 percent reciprocal tariffs, despite only having $240.1 million of bilateral trade with the United States. Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Laos, and Madagascar, among many others, were also subjected to similarly high tariffs, despite them all having bilateral trade with the United States worth far less than the $3.5 billion of US-Russia trade.
Russia exports significantly more to the United States than it imports from it.
Even with sanctions in place, there is more that could be done to restrict US trade with Russia. The Trump administration has the tools at its disposal to increase tariffs or implement other trade restrictions on Russia, addressing ongoing geopolitical concerns around Russian aggression while aligning more broadly with the administration’s policy objective of reducing trade deficits.
The United States continues to import and export select goods to and from Russia in sectors not entirely covered by current sanctions restrictions. For example, the United States imports approximately $1.3 billion in fertilizer from Russia. It also imports some precious metals and stones, inorganic chemicals, machinery, and nuclear equipment. Exports from the United States to Russia include aircraft parts and vehicles, as well as pharmaceuticals and medical supplies.
Moreover, even though US trade with Russia has diminished significantly in the past few years, there is still a trade imbalance. Russia exports significantly more to the United States than it imports from it. If the Trump administration were to apply the same formula it used to justify its sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs, which was based on bilateral US trade deficits, Russia would meet the criteria for reciprocal tariffs.
Trump’s willingness to impose sanctions on countries deemed a security threat should also be taken into consideration when evaluating whether the United States should enact tariffs on Russia. For example, China, which the Trump administration has characterized as a national security threat in executive orders, presidential memorandums, and rhetoric, has faced significant US tariffs and other economic measures aimed at restricting Chinese economic activity in the United States.
In 2025, Trump declared a national emergency aimed at boosting US competitiveness, stating that the United States must “protect its sovereignty and national and economic security” in response to China’s trade practices, cyber intrusions, and industrial espionage. The Trump administration has also enacted restrictions on the export of some US technology, including advanced artificial intelligence chips and semiconductors, to China due to concerns that Beijing will use them for military activities and surveillance.
Compared to his policies toward China, Trump’s approach to Russia is lenient, with Trump even expressing interest in a thaw in bilateral relations, including easing certain restrictions on some Russian exports. There is little value in the Russian trading market relative to China and many other countries. Russia’s market is a long way from recovering from what is now a wartime economy, meaning that Russia has diverted a significant portion of its budget toward weapons production, defense, and military expenses. Moreover, sectors supporting trade and consumer growth, such as agriculture, technology, infrastructure, education, and healthcare, have been neglected in favor of bolstering Russia’s military industrial complex—offering little market innovation or viable opportunities for Western enterprise. The unpredictability that stems from the state capture of major industries, the threat of arbitrary seizures and contract violations, and a weak rule of law make foreign investment and trade high-risk, regardless of Russia’s economic capacity.
Meanwhile, Russia continues to pose a significant threat to US security interests. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has undercut European security and challenged the rules-based international order. Russian aggression has tested the durability of US resolve in Western security alliances by conducting hybrid warfare tactics, such as cyberattacks, espionage, and the sabotage of NATO infrastructure. Its tactics in Ukraine have tested US security, with Putin repeatedly employing nuclear saber-rattling to deter US military aid to Ukraine.
As Putin continues his brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia’s ongoing threat to US security and global stability warrants further action from the Trump administration. In light of Trump’s willingness to impose tariffs on countries with a lower bilateral trade volume than Russia and its unyielding economic posture toward China, Trump’s relative leniency in economic policy toward Russia undermines the administration’s broader trade agenda. To protect US interests, the Trump administration should ensure that Russia is no longer an exception to its tariff policies.
Olivia Yanchik is an assistant director at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
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Image: President Donald Trump displays a chart with reciprocal tariffs during a 'Liberation Day' event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025 in Washington, DC (Photo by Samuel Corum/Sipa USA)