White House explains why it did not impose duties against Russia: negotiations are underway to end war
The US has not imposed new tariffs on Russia as negotiations with Moscow are ongoing to end the Russian-Ukrainian war.
This was stated by Kevin Gassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, on ABC News, Censor.NET reports.
"Obviously, the negotiations with Russia and Ukraine are ongoing, and I think the president has made a decision not to combine the two issues," Gassett said.
However, the White House official assured that the absence of Russia from the list of countries against which new duties have been imposed "does not mean that Russia will be treated any differently than any other country".
"Russia is in the midst of peace negotiations that really affect thousands and thousands of lives. And that is what President Trump is focused on right now," the US official added.
Trump imposes tariffs
As a reminder, Trump has signed an executive order imposing a minimum 10 per cent tariff on almost all goods entering the US. For some countries, the tariffs are higher. In particular, China - 34%, the European Union - 20%.
Later, it became known that Trump had declared a state of emergency in the country's economy.
