Egypt Daily News – Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council, explained that Russia was excluded from the list of new tariffs imposed by the United States because Washington is currently negotiating with Russia to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
In an interview at the White House, with ABC News, Hassett stated, “Clearly, discussions are ongoing with both Russia and Ukraine, and I believe the president made the decision not to mix the two issues. This does not mean that Russia will be treated completely differently from any other country.”
He further added that the decision is about preserving lives lost in the conflict, and raising the issue of tariffs while attempting to achieve peace would be counterproductive.
On April 2, Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on imports from other countries, with a basic minimum rate of 10%, but nearly every country would face increasing rates, calculated based on the U.S. trade deficit with that particular country in order to balance it out.
According to the U.S. president, the tariffs are intended to signal the economic independence of the United States and help use significant funds to pay down the national debt.
Russia and Belarus were excluded from these tariffs. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clarified that Russia was not included on the list because there is currently no substantial trade between the U.S. and Russia.
