U.S. President Donald Trump on April 2 unleashed what he has dubbed "Liberation Day," imposing tariffs on nearly every country in the world — including war-torn Ukraine.
Kyiv got off lighter than most with only a 10% tariff on all Ukrainian goods, compared to 20% on the EU, and 54% on China.
Nonetheless, it follows a previous round of 25% tariffs in March that thrashed Ukraine's metallurgy sector — the source of its main exports to the U.S.
Notably, the U.S. did not include Russia on its tariff list as the existing sanctions "preclude any meaningful trade," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.
Ukrainian trade with the U.S. has dropped in recent years, with only $874 million of exports and $3.4 billion of American imports last year. But the knock-on effect could be a global trade war that hits Ukraine too, Oleksandra Myronenko from the Center for Economic Strategy (CES) in Kyiv, told the Kyiv Independent.
Trump claims the tariffs will strengthen the U.S. economy and lower prices for consumers by kickstarting American manufacturing, despite many economists saying the opposite.
He said the U.S. had been exploited for decades by both allies and adversaries, describing the nation as having been "looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered."
Ukraine has so far downplayed the ramifications of the tariffs. Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko called them “difficult, but not critical” for Ukraine's economy.
The Kyiv Independent spoke with Myronenko to find out how Trump’s latest tariffs will impact Ukraine.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Kyiv Independent: What are the tariffs the U.S. has imposed on Ukraine?
Oleksandra Myronenko: The U.S. imposed a 10% tariff on all Ukrainian goods, excluding goods that were already subject to tariffs, including steel, aluminum, and their products. For those it's a 25% duty. For all other goods it's 10%.
The Kyiv Independent: What Ukrainian sectors will be impacted the most by this, and what was Ukraine exporting to the U.S.?
Oleksandra Myronenko: Metals are the main export from Ukraine to the U.S. Exports totaled almost $363 million of pig iron and $113 million of steel pipes in 2024.
Ukraine also exports food and agricultural products. We can expect a slight decline in exports of agricultural products to the U.S., but its impact will not be very critical for Ukraine.
Overall, Ukrainian exports to the U.S. make up only 2% of Ukraine’s total exports.
The Ukrainian government will support Ukrainian businesses that will be affected by these tariffs.
The Kyiv Independent: How has trade with the U.S. changed from 2021 until now?
Oleksandra Myronenko: There is a slight decline in overall Ukrainian-U.S. trade especially in (Ukrainian) exports. Previously, the U.S. was in the top 10 of Ukrainian export-import partners, but in recent years it's declined.
For 2024, the U.S. ranked fifth for goods imported to Ukraine and sixteenth for goods exported.
The Kyiv Independent: How will these new tariffs impact Ukraine's economy?
Oleksandra Myronenko: The impact of imposing these tariffs on the Ukrainian economy will not be so critical, but our partners will be impacted more.
For countries in which these tariffs are bigger than Ukraine — like China and the European Union — it means their products will become less competitive, not only on the U.S. market, but also on the global market. The sales from these countries that export to the U.S. will drop.
The European Union is already saying it can also impose some tariffs on American goods. This could lead to a trade war and this will make the global economy less effective. Because of that, the Ukrainian economy will also be in decline.
The Kyiv Independent: How is Ukraine preparing for these tariffs?
Oleksandra Myronenko: The Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on Facebook that Ukraine will not respond by imposing tariffs. The Ukrainian government will support Ukrainian businesses that will be affected by these tariffs.
The main problem is that small businesses will be affected the most. The Economy Ministry plans to support them. I think it will provide financial support, maybe some credits or loans, and maybe some financial products.
The Kyiv Independent: How does this affect the trade relations between Ukraine and Europe
Oleksandra Myronenko: We supply iron ore and other metals to the European Union, and it carries out certain processing stages. It then exports these products to the U.S.
Since U.S duties on goods from the European Union are higher than on goods from Ukraine, the exports from the EU to the U.S. will also fall significantly. This can reduce the demand for Ukrainian exports to the European Union.
But I cannot say that our trade with the European Union will decrease. I think it will be more or less on the same level.
Chris York
