Russian supplies of urea to the United States have doubled as a result of the imposition of import tariffs by US President Donald Trump on some countries, writes the Washington Post.
„The tariffs imposed so far have had some, possibly unintended, consequences. The United States, for example, is now more dependent on Russian supplies of urea, a common fertilizer used to grow crops such as wheat, corn and rice, the publication notes.
“According to New York financial firm StoneX, in May, supplies from Russia accounted for 64% of U.S. urea imports, which is about twice as much as before the president imposed new 10% tariffs on most countries, including fertilizer producers, including Qatar and Algeria, while Russia was not affected,“, the article says.
At that time, the American side explained the decision not to impose new tariffs on Russian supplies by the fact that Moscow was already subject to multiple sanctions.
The volume of Russian exports to the United States increased in May to $539.6 million, according to data published in early July in the monthly report on foreign trade turnover of the main American statistical agency - The US Census Bureau. According to its data, these volumes were recorded at $492.1 million in April and $523.5 million in March. The May figure is the highest in the last few years. During this period, it was surpassed only by the volume of Russian exports to the United States in March 2023 ($562 million).
On April 2, Trump announced the introduction of tariffs on goods from 185 countries and territories. Universal tariffs of 10% came into effect on April 5, individual tariffs - on April 9. In addition, the US administration introduced a 25% tariff on all imported cars from April 3. On the same day, the US president announced a 90-day suspension of some retaliatory tariffs, which, as the White House explained, is due to trade consultations. During this period, a universal tariff of 10% is in effect.
On June 27, Trump said that the United States would notify countries with which it would not sign separate agreements on the rates of tariffs on goods supplied to the American market. The US administration began sending these notifications in July. Trump's decisions to terminate trade negotiations and impose new import tariffs are scheduled to take effect on August 1.