Rising U.S.-Russian tensions and escalating threats of sanctions didn't derail trade between the two Cold War rivals in March, the same month Russia annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine.
Exports of U.S. goods to Russia rose 9% in March from the prior month, compared to a decline in the same month last year. That's according to non-seasonally adjusted figures deep within Tuesday's report from the Commerce Department on international trade.
Meanwhile, imports from Russia rose 36% in March from February, stronger than the 25% monthly gain a year earlier.
Exports to Russia were up 10% from March 2013, while imports rose 2% from a year earlier. Much of the monthly change came from a surge in exports of civilian aircraft and autos.
Month-to-month figures on trade with individual countries can be extremely volatile and are not always representative of current economic and geopolitical conditions. Still, the March developments in U.S.-Russia trade were more in line with global trends than a falling out between trading partners.
For example, U.S. exports to the European Union rose 17% in March, and imports increased 20%.
Russia doesn't rank among the top 15 U.S. trading partners, according to the Commerce Department. So far this year, total trade with Russia ranks just ahead of Ireland, and behind that of Colombia and Thailand.
Russia supplies oil, metals and fertilizer to the U.S. and imports American machinery, vehicles and food. U.S. trade with Ukraine is much smaller.