Putin envoy in Washington, bipartisan push for tougher stance: Why Trump spared Russia from his sweeping tariff list

In a comprehensive move that would reshape global trade, US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday a new mutual tariff targeting more than 180 countries. This step, which Trump described as an effort to face contracts of “looting, looting and looting” of the American economy, has not clearly spared Russia. On the other hand, Ukraine was exposed to a 10 % tariff, according to the White House of facts.

A White House official said he was excluded due to the current sanctions that have already reduced trade between the two countries to zero.

“US sanctions are already preventing any meaningful trade,” said Axios report quotes from White House press secretary Caroline Levitte. However, the report indicated that despite this, the United States is still trading with Russia more than the younger countries such as Mauritius or Brunei, both of which made the Trump tariff list.

Trade between the United States and Russia decreased from about 35 billion dollars in 2021 to only 3.5 billion dollars last year due to the sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Tensions on the United States relations Russia

While the White House maintains its harsh position on Russia, reports indicate that Moscow has asked Trump to lift certain sanctions as part of the ceasefire negotiations in the United States. These discussions have stopped largely, and Trump recently escalated tensions by threatening secondary customs duties on Russian oil. Speaking to NBC News’ Meet the Press, Trump announced, “If I could not conclude a deal to stop bloodshed in Ukraine, and if I think it was Russia’s mistake … I will put a secondary tariff on oil, on all the oil that comes out of Russia.”

Another layer of complexity, met with the investment envoy to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kirill Dmitryv, US officials in Washington on Wednesday. Dmitriev, which is imposed due to the Ukraine war, has given a temporary concession to travel to the meeting.

The visit represents a Russian official, the highest association to engage in state levels in the United States since Russia has been widely invaded by Ukraine in 2022. The officials have not revealed the details of the discussions, although Dmitriev has long has been consistent with the Trump’s interior, which dates back to the 2016 elections, when he found an investigation into the Muller “Russian evaluation in the mutual.

Paying the two parties for more strict penalties

Despite Trump’s exclusion of Russia from the last round of definitions, pressure from the two parties escalates to tighten the sanctions against Moscow and its allies. A group of 50 Republican Senators and Democrats submitted a proposal to impose 500 % on imports from countries that continue to buy fuel and uranium from Russia. These secondary sanctions aim to inhibit global financial support for the Russian energy sector, which was a major economic pillar of creams during the war.