‘Difficult, but Not Critical’: Ukraine Responds to Trump’s Tariffs

The Ukrainian government has reacted to the new tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump, which will affect Ukraine. Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yulia Svyrydenko commented on this on social media platform X.  

During his speech, Trump presented a table with individual duties for individual countries and associations that will be added to the base rates. Ukraine was also on the list, with a 10% duty on exports to the US.  

‘What do the new US duties mean for Ukraine? It is difficult, but not critical. We will be subject to a general duty of 10%. There is no separate higher duty, such as Moldova's 31% or the EU's 20%, for Ukraine,’ Svyrydenko wrote.  

According to her, in 2024, Ukrainian exports to the United States amounted to $874 million, of which $363 million was for pig iron and $112 million for pipes. 

At the same time, imports of American goods to Ukraine totalled $3.4 billion.  

‘Our duties on American goods are quite low - 10% on cars, 0% on coal and oil. Therefore, we now have a chance to negotiate other terms - the American statement clearly indicates this possibility,’ the minister said.  

She stressed that if the current conditions persist, small producers will suffer the most. At the same time, the government is working to achieve better conditions for Ukraine.  

‘We export more than 600 different categories of goods to the US (very different - even spanners), including 65 types of products worth more than $1 million. Ukraine has a lot to offer the US as a reliable ally and partner. Both our countries will benefit from fair duties,’ Svyrydenko concluded.

As The Gaze reported, on 2 April, US President Donald Trump officially announced the start of a trade war with all countries of the world simultaneously, announcing tariffs of 10% to 50% on imports to the US depending on the country of origin.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that the tariffs announced by Trump would seriously hit the global economy and added that the European Union was preparing retaliatory measures.