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By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told lawmakers on Wednesday that President Donald Trump was not trying to re-invigorate trade with Russia by sparing Russian goods from new tariffs, but it was up to Trump whether to impose any future duties.
Greer told the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee that Russia was excluded from the tariffs because it already was facing heavy U.S. sanctions and sectoral trade embargoes and did not enjoy "most favored nation" trading status, as were Belarus, Cuba and North Korea.
Several Democratic lawmakers questioned why Trump imposed a 47% reciprocal tariff on Madagascar and steep duties on other impoverished countries but none on Russia, despite still-substantial U.S. Russia trade that totaled $3.5 billion in 2024, with a $2.5 billion bilateral U.S. trade deficit.
Asked by Democratic Representative John Larson whether tariffs would be imposed on Russia if that trade deficit did not improve, Greer said that it was up to Trump to decide whether to impose any tariffs.
When asked whether he recommended that Trump impose tariffs on Russian goods, Greer declined to disclose his recommendation to the president.
(Reporting by David Lawder, Editing by Nick Zieminski)
