US media quotes the White House press secretary as saying this is because of sanctions on Moscow.
Summary
Russia was excluded from Trump’s sweeping tariff list due to existing U.S. sanctions that limit trade, White House officials claimed.
Despite lower trade volumes, countries like Syria were still included, prompting skepticism.
Trump has prioritized ending the war in Ukraine and threatened 50% tariffs on nations buying Russian oil. Russian state media framed the omission as sanctions-based, not favoritism, with some mocking Trump’s harsher stance on allies.
Ukraine, meanwhile, faces a 10% tariff despite the country’s strategic partnership with the U.S.
Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 – June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (née Greenglass; September 28, 1915 – June 19, 1953) were an American married couple who were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union, including providing top-secret information about American radar, sonar, jet propulsion engines, and nuclear weapon designs. Convicted of espionage in 1951, they were executed by the federal government of the United States in 1953 using New York's state execution chamber in Sing Sing in Ossining,[1] New York
Funny you bring up that couple, because the lack of standards has a through line here.
A man named Roy Cohn was the prosecutor, and he wheeled and dealed to make sure that both Rosenbergs got the death penalty, even if the evidence was a bit weak, especially the evidence against Ethel. Cohn got witnesses to change their story so that he could push to kill Ethel.
Cohn then went on to help Joseph McCarthy run the Red, and Lavender Scares.
And then, later still, Roy Cohn would tutor Donald Trump in the art of personally attacking anyone who tried to enforce the law against him.
It wasn't because of sanctions or not doing any trade with Russia, this bears repeating from the article:
However, nations with even less trade with the US - such as Syria, which exported $11m of products last year according to UN data quoted by Trading Economics - were on the list.
According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, the US imported goods from Russia worth $3.5bn (£2.7bn) in 2024. It mainly consisted of fertilisers, nuclear fuel and some metals, according to Trading Economics and Russian media.
If I'm a politician and I'm putting tariffs in place, the one place getting annihilated by a 1,000% tariff is the place I've already sanctioned into the ground. Is that performative? Maybe. Would it prevent headlines like this? Yep.
But seriously, American consumers should say bye bye to cheap clothes, etc. as everything there is about to get a lot more expensive. The reality is that America was prospering in parts to all those third world countries. And it is kind of stupid to think that you can replace their products with local manufacturing as you lack both the skill set on the local work force nor the salary levels.
They also kicked all their immigrants who were working those shitty low paid jobs and I am sure as hell those employers are now struggling big time to find other people willing to do the same for the same pay.
Interesting to see what would happen. Prices of goods in US will go up due to tariffs, similar locally made good will be expensive too due to local cost of manufacturing, labor.
Meanwhile consumer in the rest of the world are enjoying life buying cheap clothes and electronics made in SEA, China, s.america and etc.
However, nations with even less trade with the US - such as Syria, which exported $11m of products last year according to UN data quoted by Trading Economics - were on the list.
According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, the US imported goods from Russia worth $3.5bn (£2.7bn) in 2024. It mainly consisted of fertilisers, nuclear fuel and some metals, according to Trading Economics and Russian media.
And so were uninhabited islands. I'm not saying these people are geniuses. I'm saying that Grok probably said to skip sanctioned countries and they got that mostly right.