White House explains why Russia is not included in Trump’s tariffs list

"There's obviously an ongoing negotiation with Russia and Ukraine, and I think the president (Donald Trump -ed.) made the decision not to conflate the two issues. It doesn't mean that Russia, the fullest of time, is going to be treated wildly different than every other country," the official said in response to a question about why Russia was not included in the list.

In response to the host’s follow-up, Hassett added that it would be inappropriate to introduce a new element into the negotiations in the middle of the process. He also emphasized that the issue being discussed in the negotiations affects thousands of lives.

"Would you literally advise that you go in and put a whole bunch of new things on the table in the middle of a negotiation that affects so many Ukrainian and Russian lives? No, no. It's not appropriate to throw a new thing into these negotiations right in the middle of it. Russia is in the midst of negotiations over peace that affects thousands and thousands of lives of people, and that's what President Trump is focused on right now," said Kevin Hassett.

Why Russia is not on Trump's tariff list

On Wednesday, April 2, US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of reciprocal tariffs on many countries around the world.

However, Russia, Belarus, Cuba, and North Korea were notably absent from this list. Later, White House representatives explained in comments to the media that these measures were not introduced because such countries are already under sanctions and "face" significant tariffs.

Another reason mentioned was that there is no trade between the US and Russia due to the imposed sanctions (although this is not entirely accurate, as minimal trade still exists).

For more details on the impact of Trump’s tariffs, read RBC-Ukraine's article.