After President Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs in the Red Garden, a White House official told Ms. Jasmine Wright of NOTUS that Russia "is not on this list because sanctions from the conflict in Ukraine have kept trade between the two countries at bays".
Ukraine - a country in conflict - is also subject to a counterpart tax of 10%.
Belarus, Cuba and North Korea - which are subject to US sanctions - are also not on the list of countervailing tariffs.
However, Iran and Syria - which are facing heavy embargoes and sanctions - are subject to tariffs of 10% and 40%, respectively.
Since the Biden administration, the US has imposed a series of sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, accusing Russia of interfering in foreign elections and cyber attacks.
The sanctions target key sectors of the Russian economy, including energy, finance, defense and technology.
Major Russian banks have been cut off from the global financial system, assets of Russian businessmen have been frozen and export control measures have limited Russia's access to key technologies.
The sanctions against Russia also focus on individuals in the political and economic elite of Russia. In coordination with allies in Europe and Asia, the US has expanded these sanctions since 2022.
Amid concerns that the Trump administration has given Russia advantages in peace talks in Ukraine, 25 Republicans and 25 Democrats have recently sponsored a bill to impose a 500% tax on imports from countries buying oil, gas, uranium and other Russian products.
On March 30, President Trump also announced that he would impose secondary tariffs on countries buying Russian oil if Moscow did not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine.
The proposed tariffs, ranging from 25% to 50%, will not be directly targeted but will sanction foreign countries that continue to trade with Russia, thereby reducing global support for Russia's oil industry.
According to data from the US Energy Information Administration, the US has not imported Russian crude oil since April 2022.
