Importing from Russia in 2026 is mostly a sanctions question, not a tariff question. Russia lost Permanent Normal Trade Relations status on April 8, 2022 when Biden signed H.R. 7108 — every Russian-origin good now pays Column 2 rates instead of the MFN Column 1 rates the rest of the world gets. Column 2 rates are punitive: 35-90% on most apparel, 35% on most chemicals, 40% on plywood, with line-by-line rates that haven't been touched since the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff. Layer in EO 14066 (March 2022 oil and gas ban), EO 14068 (March 2022 seafood, vodka, diamonds ban), and EO 14114 (December 2023 third-country processing ban on Russian fish), and you're left with a thin set of legal import categories. Total US imports from Russia ran roughly $3.0 billion in 2025 — down from $30 billion in 2021 — and were dominated by fertilizers, platinum-group metals, and licensed enriched uranium. Here's the actual rate stack on what's left.
What's Banned, What Pays Column 2
Russian crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas, and coal: banned outright since EO 14066 (March 8, 2022). Russian seafood, alcohol, and non-industrial diamonds: banned since EO 14068 (March 11, 2022). Russian-origin salmon, cod, pollock, and crab processed in third countries: banned since EO 14114 (December 22, 2023). Russian-origin gold: banned since June 2022. The categories that remain legal — urea and other nitrogen fertilizers, potash, ammonium nitrate, platinum-group metals (palladium, platinum, rhodium), enriched uranium under DOE waiver, and some specialty chemicals — pay Column 2 rates plus 10% Section 122 plus any active AD/CVD duties. There is no Russian apparel, footwear, or consumer-goods import program in any meaningful volume.
Column 2 Rates: What 'Suspended NTR' Actually Means
Column 2 of the HTSUS lists punitive rates that apply to countries the US has stripped of Normal Trade Relations status. Right now the Column 2 list contains only Russia, Belarus, North Korea, and Cuba. The rates were set in 1930 and never updated for inflation, modernization, or reciprocity — so they're often two-to-three times higher than current Column 1 MFN rates, sometimes ten times higher. Cotton T-shirts at HTS 6109.10.00 pay 16.5% Column 1 versus 90% Column 2. Birch plywood at HTS 4412.33 pays 8% versus 40%. Pig iron at HTS 7201 pays 0% Column 1 versus $1.11 per metric ton Column 2 plus the 50% Section 232. Always pull the 10-digit HTS rate before you assume.
Worked Example: $50,000 Russian Urea Shipment
Take a $50,000 CIF shipment of Russian urea from Acron under HTS 3102.10.00 — the most-imported Russian fertilizer line. Column 1 MFN: 0% (urea is duty-free for normal countries). Column 2 (Russia): also 0% — urea happens to be one of the few HTS lines where Column 2 matches Column 1. Section 122: 10% = $5,000. Section 232: 0%. So far, $5,000 — manageable. But then comes the AD margin. Commerce's final determination in May 2024 set Russia-specific AD rates of 122-277% on urea producers — Acron at roughly 122%, EuroChem at 165%, all-others rate near 161%. On Acron product: $50,000 × 122% = $61,000 AD duty. MPF $173.20. HMF $62.50. Total entry cost: $66,235.70 — 132% effective. Now you understand why US fertilizer buyers shifted to Saudi, Egyptian, and Trinidadian urea over 2023-2024.
AD/CVD Layers Stack on Top of Column 2
Russia carries some of the heaviest AD/CVD orders in the US trade book. Active orders as of May 2026 include urea (122-277%, May 2024 determination), urea ammonium nitrate solution, ammonium nitrate (long-running order originally from 2000), several steel products, seamless pipe, and a handful of legacy chemical and electronics orders. AD/CVD margins apply on top of Column 2 rates and on top of the 10% Section 122 — they don't substitute. Always check the Federal Register and Commerce ACCESS portal for active investigations before quoting a Russian-origin line. See our breakdown on anti-dumping and countervailing duties for how the cash deposit, retroactive liquidation, and administrative review cycle actually work.
OFAC, BIS, and Sanctions Screening
Tariff is only the first compliance layer. Treasury's OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list blocks transactions with Russian individuals and entities — running every Russian counterparty through OFAC screening is mandatory before any contract. BIS Entity List restrictions block exports of US-origin technology to designated Russian end-users. Russian banks blocked under sanctions: Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, Alfa-Bank, and most Tier 1 commercial banks — payment routing through these institutions is illegal. Use OFAC's online SDN Search before any wire to a Russian supplier and keep screened-clean documentation in your import file. Penalties for OFAC violations run up to $377,700 per violation under IEEPA as of the 2025 inflation adjustment. And don't assume a Cyprus or UAE intermediary launders the origin — substantial transformation rules and beneficial-ownership reporting will catch it.
DOE Uranium Waivers and Palladium Realities
Two narrow exceptions matter to specific industries. Enriched uranium for US nuclear reactors: H.R. 1042 (May 13, 2024) banned Russian-origin LEU but authorized DOE to grant case-by-case waivers through 2027 to prevent fuel-cycle disruption. Centrus and Westinghouse have published waiver-bound supply commitments through 2026. Palladium and platinum-group metals: not banned, but supply is tight — Russia produces roughly 40% of global palladium, and US auto-catalyst manufacturers have been diversifying toward South African and Zimbabwean sources since 2022. Russian palladium still enters the US legally; pay Column 2 (which equals 0% on most PGM lines) plus 10% Section 122. If you're a Tier-1 auto supplier with palladium content in catalytic converters, sanctions risk on Norilsk Nickel sourcing is the real exposure, not the duty rate.
What the SCOTUS Ruling Did and Didn't Change for Russia
The Supreme Court's February 20, 2026 ruling in V.O.S. Selections struck down IEEPA reciprocal tariffs. Russia wasn't on the IEEPA reciprocal list — its Column 2 status was imposed under a separate statute (the 2022 PNTR suspension), and the oil and seafood bans came from OFAC executive orders that were sanctions, not reciprocal tariffs. So the SCOTUS ruling didn't unlock Russian imports. Section 122 still applies (10% baseline, expires approximately July 24, 2026). Section 232 still applies (50% on Russian steel, aluminum, and copper — though most of these are already sanctioned). For US importers, the practical takeaway: nothing about Russia got cheaper or easier in 2026.
Action Checklist for Russian-Origin Exposure
Step 1: Audit your bill of materials for Russian-origin inputs — even one Russian component on a finished product can taint the country-of-origin determination on the whole entry. Step 2: For any Russian-origin transaction, run OFAC SDN screening on counterparty, vessel, beneficial owner, and bank. Step 3: For fertilizer programs, pull current AD/CVD margins from Commerce ACCESS — the May 2024 urea determination changed the math significantly. Step 4: For uranium, document DOE waiver coverage on every shipment and confirm waiver expiration dates. Step 5: Monitor BIS Federal Register notices for Entity List additions affecting suppliers. Step 6: For products with PGM content, build supplier diversification into Q3 2026 contracts. Step 7: Run scenarios in the landed cost calculator before signing any 2026 PO with Russian-origin content.
Key Takeaway
Russian imports in 2026 are a thin trickle of fertilizer, palladium, and waiver-bound uranium — total flow roughly $3 billion compared to $30 billion in 2021. Where imports remain legal, the duty stack is brutal: Column 2 base, 10% Section 122, AD/CVD margins as high as 277% on urea producers. The SCOTUS ruling didn't change Russia's status, and there's no path back to Column 1 treatment without an act of Congress. Sanctions screening is non-negotiable. Most US importers are better served sourcing fertilizer from Saudi Arabia or the Gulf, palladium from South Africa, and uranium from Kazakhstan or Australia. If you must touch Russian origin, document everything and run AD/CVD math before you quote.
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