The US and partners are considering an almost complete ban on exports to Russia – media
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Some of Ukraine’s key allies, including the United States, are considering an almost complete ban on exports to Russia.
It is reported Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter.
G7 officials are discussing the idea ahead of a leaders’ summit in Japan in May. The main goal is to put pressure on EU member states. Currently, the offer is still under discussion and may change.
The approach being discussed would reverse the existing sanctions regime, in which case all exports would be banned and only certain ones would exist. Now, all exports are allowed, as long as they are not subject to sanctions.
If G-7 leaders support the move at the summit, exceptions will need to be agreed. At the same time, according to one of the interlocutors, it is very likely that medicines and agricultural products, in particular food products, will not remain under sanctions.
But there are potentially serious obstacles to implementation. To enter into force in the EU, the new criteria must be adopted by all member states. This will spark a heated debate, given the backlash from companies that still export goods to Russia.
Currently, sanctions have almost halved the value of EU and G7 exports to Russia. According to the Geneva-based Monitoring of Trade Data, goods from Europe, the USA, Canada and Japan, which still reach Russia, are valued at 66 billion dollars.
G-7 members are concerned that this is too much of a benefit for the economy of the aggressor state. Especially when Moscow finds ways to bypass sanctions through third countries.
Germany, Italy and Poland remain the three largest European exporters of goods to Russia, according to monitoring data. Among the G7 goods most likely to be affected by sanctions are automobiles, chocolate, beer, footwear, flowers and cosmetics, as well as non-medical and non-agricultural goods.
At the same time, European countries continue to buy some goods from Moscow, including palladium, copper, iron and nickel.
In addition, an almost complete ban on exports to Russia may bring Moscow even closer to China in the search for alternative buyers for sanctioned goods.
Increasing trade restrictions is likely to be a key issue at the G7 summit. The leaders are also expected to make progress on tracking Russian diamonds across borders, eventually paving the way for trade restrictions.
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