US and Europe do billions in trade with Russia despite sanctions

More than three years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and European Union still import billions of euros worth of Russian energy and commodities, ranging from liquefied natural gas to enriched uranium.

Here are the main commercial ties that the EU and the U.S. maintain with Russia, and their evolution over the last four years:

EU TRADE WITH RUSSIA

The EU has imposed various import and export restrictions on several products, resulting in a 61% decline in exports to Russia and an 89% drop in imports from Russia between the first quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2025, according to the latest data from Eurostat.

In the second quarter of 2025, EU exports to Russia increased, while imports decreased, turning a trade deficit to a surplus of 0.8 billion euros.

The EU, however, continues to purchase oil, nickel, natural gas, fertilizer, iron and steel from Russia.

OIL

Four years ago, Russia was the largest supplier of petroleum products to the EU, but the EU ban on maritime imports of Russian crude oil reduced its share to 2.01% in 2025 so far from 28.74% in 2021.

The share of petroleum oil imports from Russia fell from 29% in the first quarter of 2021 to just 2% in the second quarter of 2025.

NATURAL GAS

Russia's share in EU imports of natural gas dropped to 12% in the second quarter of 2025 from 48% in the first quarter of 2021.

In this period the share for Norway (+10%) increased by the sharpest amount, but Algeria (+2%) became the EU's largest partner, accounting for 27% of the bloc's natural gas imports.

Russia still supplies some EU countries such as Hungary and Bulgaria via the TurkStream undersea gas pipeline from Turkey.

LNG

The value of EU imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia increased considerably between the first quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2022 as prices increased sharply.

However, Russia's share in EU imports of LNG had decreased to 14% in the second quarter of 2025 from 22% in the first quarter of 2021.

The United States was the biggest supplier of the frozen gas to Europe in the second quarter of this year, with its share reaching 54%.

IRON AND STEEL

Russia's share in non-EU iron and steel imports slumped to 6% in the second quarter of 2025 from 18% four years ago.

FERTILIZERS

Russia remained, as of the second quarter of 2025, the largest exporter of fertilizers into the 27-nation EU, and its share of that market had increased to 34% from 28% over the last four years.

The European Parliament voted in May to impose prohibitive tariffs on Russian fertilizer imports, but they will only be introduced in phases and it is too early to assess their likely impact on the market.

U.S. IMPORTS FROM RUSSIA

U.S. imports from Russia fell to US$2.50 billion in the first half of 2025 from US$14.14 billion four years earlier, according to U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data. Since January 2022, the United States has imported US$24.51 billion of Russian goods.

FERTILIZERS

Last year, the U.S. imported around US$1.27 billion of Russian fertilizers, up slightly from US$1.14 billion in 2021.

URANIUM, PLUTONIUM

The U.S. imported enriched uranium and plutonium from Russia worth around US$624 million in 2024, down from US$646 million in 2021.

PALLADIUM

Russia exported palladium to the United States for around $878 million in 2024, down from US$1.59 billion in 2021.