U.S.-imposed 10% duty on imported Armenia goods to cause greater  reduction in bilateral trade - economist

ArmInfo. The introduction of a 10% duty on goods from Armenia by US President Donald Trump will lead to an even greater decrease in trade turnover between the two  countries. Associate Professor of the Armenian State University of  Economics Aghasi Tavadyan holds a similar point of view.

In an interview with ArmInfo, the economist recalled that the trade  turnover between the two countries is currently very modest. Until  2021, the export of Armenian goods to the American market accounted  for only 2.5% of Armenia's total exports, while now it is 0.5%. From  2017 to 2020, export volumes amounted to $50-60 million, in 2021-2022  they increased to $80 million, and in 2023-2024 they decreased to $50  million. Armenia mainly supplied the United States with gold and  precious metals, alcoholic and spirituous beverages, as well as  canned goods and dairy products. Until 2021, import volumes from the  United States amounted to $20 million, in 2021-2022 they increased to  $346 million, in 2023. - up to $550 million, and in 2024 - decreased  to $320 million. The significant increase in imports, as the  economist emphasized, was due to the re-export of cars from the  United States to the Russian Federation. However, after Georgia  imposed a ban on the re-export of Western cars to Russia in August  2023, the scheme of their deliveries through Armenia was also  destroyed. Currently, re-export from the republic has practically  ceased. To a large extent, as Tavadyan noted, this was also  facilitated by the introduction by Moscow of a recycling fee for  deliveries by one person over one car per year, which is associated  with the intention of the Russian Federation to intensify the  development of the domestic automotive industry. As a result, a  significant decrease in the volume of Armenian-American trade began  to be observed.

Aghasi Tavadyan predicted that the reduction in trade in the near  future will be significant - by 6-10 times, as a result of which the  volume of trade will decrease on an annual basis to only $20 - 30  million.

Answering a question about the fate of the memorandum on strategic  partnership between Armenia and the United States, signed in January  of this year, the economist noted that the current White House  administration is guided by the principle of "America above all". For  the United States, which has recognized the multipolarity of the  world, Mexico, Panama, Greenland, and a number of other countries  will be among the priority countries, but not Armenia. As a result,  Armenia will pay more attention to the EAEU countries and the Russian  Federation than to the United States.

ArmInfo reported earlier that the duties imposed by US President  Donald Trump on products supplied to the country did not bypass  Armenia. By decree of the American leader, a duty of 10% is imposed  on Armenian products. In general, duties for the countries of the  former USSR will reach 31% - Trump imposed such a tariff for Moldova,  and for Kazakhstan - 27%. For other countries of the former USSR,  including Armenia, the state duty rate will be 10%.

On April 2, Donald Trump demonstrated a table with tariffs for  different countries, which reach 50%. They are calculated as follows:  US tariffs are set at half the tariffs of those set by other  countries against the US.  The US President called the decree a  "declaration of economic independence". This, according to him, is  due to the fact that America has been "robbed" for many years by  other nations - both friends and enemies.

According to the RA Statistical Committee, in 2024, trade turnover  between Armenia and the US decreased by 38.7%.