Joe Biden has announced that he will suspend the import of products from “key sectors of the Russian economy, including seafood, vodka and diamonds”. Exports of luxury goods will also be banned.
Article written by
Posted
Update
Reading time : 1 min.
The United States further pushed the sanctions slide against Moscow, deciding on Friday March 11 to exclude Russia from the reciprocity regime governing world trade, which paves the way for the imposition of punitive customs tariffs in response to the invasion of Ukraine. “The United States, our allies and partners continue to work together to increase economic pressures on [Vladimir Poutine] and further isolate Russia on the world stage”said the American president from the White House.
Joe Biden also announced a ban on imports of “flagship sectors of the Russian economy, including seafood, vodka and diamonds”. In the wake of this announcement, the US Department of Commerce announced a ban on exports of luxury goods, including jewelry, cars, clothing and antiques, to Russia and Belarus.
The European Union has followed Washington’s lead, announcing in turn a ban on the export of its own luxury goods. The EU and the G7 have also joined Washington in revoking the so-called status of “most favored nation” enjoyed by Moscow, which facilitates free trade in goods and services.
As far as the United States is concerned, Russia will thus join Cuba and North Korea, the only countries excluded by the world’s leading power from the principle of reciprocity which is the basis of most international trade relations.
Trade between the United States and Russia is certainly limited, but this decision is a new blow to the Russian economy. Last year, the United States imported some 30 billion dollars worth of Russian products – including 17.5 billion dollars worth of crude oil, a commodity on which Washington has just decreed an outright embargo.