Trump is claiming that there is insufficient trade with Russia to merit adding additional tariffs. If Trump can add tariffs to islands with no people and no trade with the United States then his argument that low trade is the reason for allowing Russia to F–k the United States fails.
The absence of Russia on the president’s new list of countries that he’ll hit with steep tariffs did not go unnoticed on social media. Critics were quick to accuse Trump of kowtowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Trump has for years expressed his admiration of.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Axios the reason for Russia’s exclusion was that economic sanctions imposed on the country following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine already “preclude any meaningful trade.”