US President Donald Trump is threatening an additional 25% tariff on other countries buying Russian oil, and an additional 25% tariff on India, in an attempt to put pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. But the US and Europe itself have billions of dollars in trade with Russia, a small portion of the trade that took place before the war.
India claims it is unfairly targeted by increased tariffs, calling it “unfair” given that other countries are also doing business with Moscow.
Trade between the US has fallen by about 90% since the Kremlin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the Kremlin began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but the US still imported goods worth $3 billion, according to the latest data from the US Economic Analysis Agency (BEA) and the Census Bureau.
Meanwhile, the European Union, an American partner in sanctions against Russia, imported 41.9 billion euros (36 billion euros) of goods from Russia in 2024, data from the block statistics agency shows.
“We’re looking forward to seeing you in the world,” said Kimbaride Novan, director of the Economic Statecraft Initiative at Atlantic Council, a DC-based think tank. “They are making great strides to further reduce how much they get from (Russia).”
EU imports from Russia fell 86% between the first quarter of 2022 and 2025, according to Eurostat data.
“I think there will be plenty of opportunities for the US and even the EU to increase trade with countries like Canada and get the products they need from them,” Donovan added. “It really throws things up for the loop, the trade war and negotiations over the tariffs, reducing our ability to be strategic about how we are approaching Russia’s issues.”
These are the regions where economic relations with Russia remain the strongest for the US and Europe, respectively.
• fertilizer: The US imported $927 million worth of fertilizer in the first half of this year, US Census Bureau data shows. Last year, fertilizer imports from Russia totaled over $1 billion. The United States relies on Russia for importing three types of chemical fertilizers in particular: urea, ammonium urea nitrate (UAN), and potassium chloride and potassium chloride of potassium, also known as potassium, known as potassium.
“As with the US as Belarusian potash, this (the level of trade) is likely to continue unless Russian fertilizer is imported,” said Allan Pickett, head of fertilizer analysis at S&P Global Commodity Insights. “Russia remains one of the most important global fertilizer suppliers, and its impact has not diminished since 2022.”
“Urea and potash could be easily sourced from elsewhere, but potash will further increase your dependence on Canada.
The Trump administration recently hiked tariffs in Canada to a minimum of 35%. This expanded ongoing trade tensions with its north neighbours as the goods comply with the terms of the US Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement.
• palladium: While imports from Palladium from Russia have been declining significantly since 2021, data shows that the US imported $878 million worth of metal in 2024 and $594 million worth of metal in 2025 until June. Silver metals are used in a variety of electronic and industrial products and are an important component of car catalytic converters.
• Uranium and Plutonium: The US has imported $755 million worth of uranium and plutonium from Russia so far this year, according to data from the census up until June. In 2024, we imported goods worth $624 million from Russia.
• oil: Russia was the largest supplier of European Union oil before Moscow was the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The EU subsequently imposed a ban on importing oil from Russia by sea, as well as sophisticated petroleum products like diesel. As a result, oil imports to Europe fell from $16.4 billion (140.6 billion euros) in the quarter of 2021 to 1.728 billion euros) in the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest data from Eurostat.
The top European importers of Russian fossil fuels in July 2025 were Hungary, France, Slovakia, Belgium and Spain, according to an analysis by the Energy Research Centre, an international research institute. Analysis shows that Hungary and Slovakia made up a large part of crude oil imports, while others are primarily liquefied natural gas.
• Natural Gas: According to Eurostat data, the value of natural gas imports from Russia has actually increased over the past four years as a result of rising prices, increasing to $5.23 billion (Euro 44.9 billion) in the first quarter of 2025. However, the EU has slightly reduced the Russian market share of liquefied natural gas imports since 2021 – from 22% to 19% in 2025 – a significant increase in US market share.
• Steel: The proportion of Russian iron and steel imports in the EU fell sharply. Iron and steel imports reached $850 million (730 million euros) in the first quarter of 2025, roughly half of the same quarter in 2021, according to EuroStat.
• fertilizer: Sanctions and import duties are not being hit by the fertilizer industry. As a result, European imports of Russian fertilizer have changed little since 2021. In the first quarter of 2025, EU countries imported USD 640 million (EUR 550 million).
• nickel: The EU diversified its imports to rely more on nickel in the US, Norway, the UK and Canada. Still, BLOC imported $300 million (EUR 220 million) worth of nickel from Russia in the first quarter of 2025.
Beyond the import and export of goods, many Western companies remain entrenched in Russia.
Several notable US-based holdouts continue to operate in Russia, including the top 100 companies, according to a list compiled by Yale Management of Management and the Kiev School of Economics Institute.
Dozens of European companies remain in Russia, including consumer brands, retailers and software companies.
The amount of tax revenue generated by Western companies for the Kremlin is relatively small, but analysts say they allow remaining companies to continue the aspects of their normal life for the Russian population.
Corporate exits will help bring war closer to the Russian people and stand up to their “self-satisfaction” as well as make it more difficult to paint an economy where Putin is working well, said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of the Yale School of Management.
“It was a collapsed market, not an economic superpower at first. It’s a lot of smoke and mirrors, a lot of brave ones on Putin’s side, and it tries to create an aura of something bigger,” Sonnenfeld told CNN.
India and China’s energy imports
India imported $67 billion worth of goods from Russia in 2024, in contrast to the cuts in trade with Moscow seen in the US and the EU. According to data collected by the UN, India imported $67 billion worth of goods from Russia in 2024. It was about $53 billion worth of oil and crude oil.
In 2021, before the full-scale war, India imported goods worth $8.7 billion from Russia.
India’s Russian oil and gas imports have skyrocketed even before the war began. According to energy data company Vortexa, Russia’s oil currently accounts for 36% of the Indian market. In other words, they import more crude oil from Russia than elsewhere.
China also increased its purchases of Russian crude oil following a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The prices fell after the Western countries sharply reduced Russian fuel imports. According to Vortexa, Russia currently accounts for 13.5% of China’s crude oil imports.
China imported approximately $130 billion in Russian products in 2024. This includes $62.6 billion in oil and crude oil.
