As the dust settled on President Donald Trump’s stunning announcement of a punitive range of “reciprocal” tariffs on practically every country in the world, including some uninhabited islands, there was a standout omission from the list of targets: Russia.

U.S. outlet Axios quoted White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as saying on April 2 that this was because existing U.S. sanctions on Russia "preclude any meaningful trade" and noting that Cuba, Belarus and North Korea were also not included, for the same reason. According to BBC News, Russian media on April 3 also argued that their country was not on President Trump's sweeping tariffs list because of existing sanctions.

However, nations with even less trade with the U.S. — such as Syria, which exported $11m of products last year according to UN data quoted by Trading Economics, and even the Heard Island and McDonald Islands, an Australian external territory in the southern Indian Ocean, which are completely uninhabited — were on the list.

According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. imported goods from Russia worth $3.5bn (£2.7bn) in 2024. It mainly consisted of fertilizers, nuclear fuel and some metals, according to Trading Economics and Russian media. Trade with Russia will still be subject to the 10% “universal” tariff to be introduced on all U.S. imports April 5, as will Mexico and Canada —  the U.S.'s two largest trading partners —  who have been spared for now from reciprocal tariffs, due to begin April 9.

Many Kremlin-controlled media outlets specifically referred to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told Fox News April 2: "Russia and Belarus, we don't trade with. They're sanctioned."

The U.S., under former President Joe Biden, imposed large-scale sanctions on Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which Trump has maintained, despite a much friendlier relationship with Russia. Trump is currently trying to broker peace between the countries, threatening to impose a 50% tariff on countries buying Russian oil if Russian President Vladimir Putin did not agree to a ceasefire. Putin, however, remains stubbornly belligerent in regard to his invasion of the neighboring country.