The U.S.and other Western countries have imposed a wave of trade sanctions against Russia in the past few months. The goal of these sanctions is to weaken the Russian economy.However since Russia is very rich in all types of natural resources it remains to be seen if these sanctions have any impact in the coming months and years. The effect of these sanctions may be insignificant particularly for the U.S. and Russia since the trade between the countries is low by global standards.

In 2013, the top five US trade partners were Canada, China, Mexico, Japan and Germany in that order. U.S. exports to Canada amounted to over $300.o billion in goods alone while imports from Canada totaled over $330.o billion. The U.S. imported over $440.0 B in goods from China last year. China imported about $122.0 B worth of goods from the U.S.

In comparison, Russia’s trade with the U.S. and vice versa was small. Russia ranked as the 23rd largest trade partner with the U.S. with total trade of just over $38.0 billion.

Here are a few other interesting facts on US-Russia trade:

• U.S. goods exports to Russia totaled just over $11.0 billion in 2013.
• U.S. imported goods totaling $27.0 billion.
• Russia was the 28th largest export market for the U.S.
• The top export categories were: Machinery, Vehicles, Aircraft , Electrical Machinery , and Optic and Medical Instruments.
• U.S. exported agricultural products worth $1.2 billion. Some of the top categories were: poultry meat , tree nuts, soybeans, and live animals.
• The five largest import categories were: Mineral Fuel (oil) , Iron and Steel, Inorganic Chemical (enriched uranium) , Fertilizers, and Precious Stones (platinum).

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Office of the United States Trade Representative