Washington: US President Donald Trump took a historic decision on Wednesday. He announced to impose at least 10 percent tariff on almost the entire world. Trump has also included remote small island countries in his tariff. He did not spare allies like India, Britain, Australia, Japan. But the world was surprised when Trump showed leniency towards his arch enemies. Countries like Russia, Cuba, Belarus, and North Korea have been exempted from this new tariff. A pattern has been seen in Trump's list. That is, Trump has imposed half the tariff on the country that it imposes on America. Afghanistan imposes a 49 percent tariff, according to which a 25 percent tariff should have been imposed on it. But the Trump administration imposed only a 10 percent tariff on it.
US press secretary Caroline Levitt said that Russia was excluded from the tariff list because existing US sanctions already 'prevent trade' there. Although the US trades more with Russia than countries like Mauritius and Brunei, tariffs have been imposed on them. However, close allies like Canada and Mexico have also been exempted from the new tariffs this time, but this is because Trump has already imposed a 25% tariff on them.
Talks are being held on stopping the war
Trump's decision has come at a time when Trump is trying to establish peace between Russia and Ukraine. The ceasefire talks being mediated by the US do not seem to be moving forward. Russia has demanded Trump to lift some sanctions. Trump also threatened a secondary tariff on Russian oil earlier this week and expressed displeasure over Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent statements on Ukraine.
Russia-US trade has seen a sharp decline since the Russia-Ukraine war. The trade between the US and Russia was $35 billion in 2021, which dropped to $3.5 billion last year due to sanctions. Levitt has said that the US can take even tougher steps against Russia.
