In order to counter the US tariff on steel and aluminum products, Russian raised the tax rate on a range of imported goods from the US from 25% to 40% on 5^th.

According to a report by Russian Satellite News Agency on August 5^th, Russia began to impose a new tariff rate on a series of imported goods from US on August 5^th, in response to the US steel and aluminum tariffs previously imposed.

According to reports, Russia will increase the import tax rate on certain US freight vehicles, road construction equipment, oil and gas equipment, metal processing, rock drilling tools and optical fibers from 25% to 40%.

The report pointed out that the damage caused by US trade restrictions to Russian exporters is estimated to be $537.6 million. According to Russian Economic Development Minister Oleshkin, Russia’s additional tariffs will reach 87.6 million U.S. dollars per year at this stage. This is the compensation that Russia is entitled to under the World Trade Organization. The remaining $450 million will be levied after three years or as determined by the WTO.

Not long ago, in response to the US levy of aluminum and steel tariffs on Russia, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development announced on July 6 that it would impose a 25% to 40% surcharge on some US goods. The taxable goods cover construction, oil and gas and mining equipment and so on.

According to previous reports, on March 8, US President Trump signed an order at the White House on the grounds of "national security," imposing 25% and 10% tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the United States. This move not only caused widespread opposition from the European Union and Russia, India, Brazil and other countries, but also caused fierce controversy within the United States and even within the Republican Party.

The Russian Satellite News Agency reported that in order to retaliate against the US tariff on steel and aluminum, Russia will impose a tariff of US$537.6 million on goods valued at US$3.16 billion.

Japan also indicated that it will impose a tax of 440 million U.S. dollars on imports from the United States for the same reason. Turkey said it would impose a tax of $267 million.

Previously, China, the European Union and India had imposed retaliated taxes of $612 million, $1.6 billion and $165 million, respectively. So far, the total retaliatory tariffs on US steel and aluminum tariffs have reached $3.5 billion.

At present, all parties who have filed a dispute settlement measure with the WTO believe that according to WTO principles, a country can use trade protection measures to protect its own industries, but measures should be taken to compensate other countries that have suffered losses due to trade restrictions.However, the United States excuses this steel and aluminum tariff for the purpose of "protecting national security", rather than protecting the industry, and does not belong to trade protection measures, thus refusing to take any compensation actions.