US trade minister remains tough: « The tariffs come »
Despite criticism, the US government holds adamant At their global customs package firmly. When asked whether the next round of new tariffs is still negotiable and the entry into force could be postponed, Minister of Commerce Howard Lutnick told the television station CBS: « There is no postponement. » He pushed after: « The tariffs come. » US President Donald Trump announced them and did not mean a joke. The tariffs wouldn’t disappear so quickly either. « The president has to regulate world trade, » said Lutnick.
US finance minister Scott Bessent also told the broadcaster NBC that the tariffs are nothing that could be negotiated within days or weeks. In an interview with the broadcaster ABC, the director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hasset, reported that more than 50 countries had already contacted the US government in order to pay negotiations on trade relationships.
A few days ago, Trump had presented a huge customs package that should significantly change the structure of the global economy. In a first step, new flat -rate tariffs of ten percent took effect on imports from almost all countries. On April 9th, a complex mechanism will follow in a next step, which provides even higher tariffs for countries with which the US government believes that the US government has a particularly large trade deficit. With his customs policy, Trump wants to strengthen the production site USA, among other things, but also lead other countries to reduce its own trade barriers for imports from the USA.
No tariffs against Russia
However, the US government spares Russia on its huge customs package. This ensures inquiries – and changing answers. The US government justifies the lack of punitive tariffs on Russian imports with the ongoing negotiations on the Ukraine War. The director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hasset, told the television station ABC that it was « not appropriate to throw in a new matter in the middle of these negotiations ». US President Donald Trump therefore decided not to mix the two topics.
This does not mean that Russia is treated completely differently than other countries, emphasized Hasset. The president only focuses on negotiations with Russia about the end of the war against Ukraine.
Ten percent punitive tariffs for Ukraine
Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt initially stated that Russia had not been taken into account because US sanctions have already « excluded any significant trade ».
Nationwide protests against Trump in the United States
According to data from the United States Census Bureaus, the trade between Russia and the USA actually shrank down to Ukraine compared to the time before the war of aggressure. Russia is still in front of Ukraine in the United States’ trade balance in goods imports. According to the US statistics authority, in 2024, around $ 3 billion came from Russia to the USA-compared to a value of around $ 1.2 billion from Ukraine.
According to Trump’s customs list, punitive tariffs of 10 percent should be due for Ukraine. The list also lists small, non -independent areas such as Tokelau in the South Pacific or Gibraltar.
