Witkoff, after making sure that Trump would give Ukraine no Tomahawks, tried to persuade Ukraine to seek zero tariffs instead

From Pravda / Yahoo!News:

"Trump envoy Witkoff suggested Ukraine seek zero tariffs from US rather than Tomahawks – WSJ

Mariya Yemets, KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO, November 29, 2025

 

The  Wall Street Journal has established that Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy, attempted to convince Ukrainian officials that it would be far more beneficial for Ukraine to gain zero-tariff access to the US market rather than receive long-range Tomahawk missiles. 

The article recalls an episode in October when Trump was close to approving Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine, but after a conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin – and by the time Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Washington – he changed his mind.

Witkoff reportedly then took it upon himself to persuade the Ukrainian side that the US had a "more interesting offer" for them.

The special envoy argued that a "handful of missiles" would not enable Ukraine to achieve any meaningful results and instead suggested that Ukraine request a 10-year tariff exemption from Trump, which "would supercharge their economy".

It is worth noting that Witkoff's proposal, if he indeed made it, reflects a lack of understanding of bilateral trade realities. The United States ranks only 16th in Ukraine's export structure, accounting for about 2% of total exports. Thus, a tariff exemption would likely have had little impact."

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For Trump and his minions, everything is about money. Also, note that the perk is supposed to last only for a decade.