On June 27, 2022, President Joseph Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation announcing that the United States was increasing the duty rate to 35% ad valorem on certain products from Russia effective July 28, 2022. The White House indicated that this higher tariff will affect “more than 570 groups of Russian products worth approximately $2.3 billion”; however, the specific Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) list of such products has not yet been released. The list of products and categories covered reportedly includes steel and aluminum; minerals, ores and metals; chemicals; arms and ammunition; wood and paper products; aircraft and parts; and automotive parts. Pursuant to the proclamation, goods from Belarus will face a similar increase in import tariffs.
This trade action follows earlier passage of the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act, which effectively ended normal trade relations by suspending permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) between the United States and Russia and the United States and Belarus. The removal of PNTR status included the withdrawal of “most favored nation” tariffs, resulting in higher tariffs on goods imported from Russia and Belarus. The law also gave the president authorization to increase the duties applicable to products imported from these two countries. See Update of April 11, 2022.
In addition, during the G7 meetings in Germany, the United States and other G7 leaders committed to: (1) sanctioning additional Russian individuals and entities; (2) expanding targeted sanctions on Russia’s military production and supply chains; (3) further restricting Russia’s ability to participate in the global market, including prohibiting the gold imports from Russia; and (4) targeting efforts by those engaging in “evasion and backfill activities” by prohibiting identified companies from purchasing U.S.-origin goods and technology. A White House Fact Sheet broadly describing these forthcoming actions is available here.