Editorial August 2025 Do as we say, not as we do The West’s Russian Chemical Imports

Rajiv Parikh

16 Sep 2025

Despite years of tough sanctions and diplomatic broadsides against Moscow for its ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the United States and the European Union continue to quietly import billions of dollars’ worth of chemicals and other goods from Russia—even as they pressure countries like India, China, and Brazil to halt their own trade ties with Moscow.

The Scale of US Imports: Chemicals, Fertilizers, Uranium

While the US dramatically slashed Russian oil, coal, and seafood imports since 2022, key Russian exports deemed “critical” to American industry keep flowing across the border. These include:

Fertilizers: US imports of Russian fertilizers (such as urea and potassium chloride) hit $806million between January and May 2025, up 21% year-on-year. For all of 2024, fertiliser imports reached $1.1billion, making up the single largest category of Russian goods imported into the US.
Inorganic Chemicals: The US brought in roughly $695.7million of inorganic chemicals—including radioactive compounds, gases, and specialty chemicals essential for nuclear and high-tech industries—in 2024.
Uranium Hexafluoride: Critical for nuclear power, Russian uranium imports to the US surged 28% year-on-year in early 2025, reaching $624million for 2024. Notably, American companies continue buying Russian uranium under “national interest” waivers until at least 2028.
Palladium: Widely used in vehicle catalytic converters and electronics, US palladium imports from Russia totalled roughly $878million in 2024—a category shielded from full sanctions due to limited global alternatives.

Even though the public focus remains on oil and gas, chemicals and fertilizers now comprise the overwhelming bulk (90%) of US imports from Russia—a pattern that persists despite intense rhetoric against Russian trade.

Europe's Chemical Connections: Fertilizers, Metals, Critical Inputs

The European Union’s imports from Russia reflect a similar pattern of pragmatic double standards:

Fertilizers: Russia remains the EU’s largest supplier of fertiliser, accounting for 25-28% of the bloc's total fertiliser imports—a share that actually increased in recent quarters despite harsh sanctions and prohibitive tariffs approved by the European Parliament in May 2025.
Chemicals: EU trade data shows that chemical imports from Russia reached $17.6billion in 2024, with specialty and industrial chemicals used across agriculture, manufacturing, and the food sector. For comparison, this is nearly six times India's $3.1billion in Russian chemical imports.
Nickel, Iron, and Steel: While drops have occurred in Russian nickel, iron, and steel imports due to certain restrictions, trade in these essential metals continues, valued at $6.7billion for 2024.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG): The EU’s LNG imports from Russia rose to account for 22% of the bloc's total LNG purchases by late 2024, up from 11% in 2022—even as pipeline gas imports declined sharply.
Other Chemicals: The EU also imports significant quantities of organic chemicals, plastics, and pharmaceutical precursors from Russia, supporting critical sectors despite ongoing sanctions.

These facts reveal an unmistakable double standard in trade policy:

Washington and Brussels maintain harsh rhetoric and push secondary sanctions on third countries, particularly India and Brazil, for their energy trade with Russia.
US President Donald Trump, when confronted about Russian chemical imports, claimed ignorance, while a senior official later admitted that the imports continue for “commodities we don’t currently have good alternatives for” but insisted they remain “modest compared to India’s”.

The Global Reaction: Calls for Fairness

India, Brazil, and China have all pushed back against the “unjustified and unreasonable” targeting, arguing their trade is comparable or much lower than the ongoing imports into Western countries. India’s Ministry of External Affairs pointedly noted that Western countries continue to trade more intensively with Russia in many categories, particularly chemicals, fertilizers, and strategic metals.

US and European policies reveal an uneven and often hypocritical approach to sanctioning Russian trade, especially in chemicals and industrial inputs critical to agriculture, manufacturing, and energy. While loudly demanding other nations sever financial ties with Moscow, both America and Europe quietly maintain their own streams of Russian products—prioritising economic needs over political ideals. As global criticism mounts, the gap between rhetoric and reality becomes harder to justify, exposing the fragile foundations of current “values-based” trade diplomacy.