The USA tightened the ban on the import of Russian fish and seafood

The US Treasury Department has published clarifications to President Biden’s decree banning the import of Russian fish and seafood. The new rules tighten control over imports and, in particular, close legal loopholes that allowed Russian fish to be imported through third countries.

US sanctions prohibit the import of Russian salmon, cod, pollack and crabs. The new clarifications indicate that these species are also prohibited if they were caught by foreign companies in Russian waters, or on vessels flying the Russian flag, regardless of the affiliation of the customer company, or were processed in third countries. Previously, such a ban was not expressly stipulated in American documents, which allowed exporters to build bypass chains.

The executive director of the Association of Production and Trading Companies of the Fish Market, Alexander Fomin, said in a comment to “Kommersant” that the export of Russian fish to China could be significantly reduced due to the ban. “Ideally, the increase in exports from Russia to China this year can return to the previous figures. Although, at such throwaway prices, the PRC itself can eat it all,” he said.

On Friday, US President Biden signed a decree that allows for the introduction of secondary sanctions against foreign banks that participate in transactions for the supply of goods and technologies for Russia’s military-industrial complex (VPC). The same decree prohibits the import into the United States of certain goods of Russian origin – including fish and seafood, non-industrial diamonds, alcohol and any other products that the country’s Ministry of Finance deems necessary to add to the list.