Input Stories

The Biden administration and U.S. allies recently announced new sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions: The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 70 entities that were deemed important to Russia’s defense, industry, technology and manufacturing sectors. The sanctions were designed to target Russia’s ability to develop weapons and technology.

Higher tariff rate: On June 27, President Biden announced that the U.S. will increase tariff rates on imports from Russia of more than 570 groups of Russian products worth approximately $2.3 billion. The U.S. further committed to exploring the use of revenues collected from tariffs on Russian goods to assist Ukraine.

G7 actions: The U.S. and G7 partners will coordinate to provide $7.5 billion in assistance to Ukraine.

• The G7 member nations will also coordinate to “restrict Russia’s access to key industrial inputs, services and technologies produced by our economies, particularly those supporting Russia’s armament industrial base and technology sector,” according to the White House.

European Union: The EU adopted mandatory gas storage legislation that requires member countries to fill their underground gas storage to at least 80% of their capacity before winter.

• The EU additionally announced a return to coal power in response to the decrease in gas flowing from Russia and extended its broadcasting prohibition on Russian state media outlets.

United Kingdom: The U.K. announced its intention to cut off Russia from key sources of foreign income by sanctioning energy resources and other exports, including gold. These sanctions are expected to be rolled out over the next month.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Commerce has decided to review whether Russia should continue to be classified as a market economy for the purposes of U.S. antidumping law. The NAM is respectfully urging the Department of Commerce to quickly reclassify Russia as a nonmarket economy.

• “It is clear that steps taken by the government of Russia to exert more control over the Russian economy—particularly since the invasion of Ukraine—warrant revocation of Russia’s status as a market economy country for the purposes of U.S. antidumping law,” NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons recently wrote to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
• According to Timmons, several Russian actions violate the criteria for classification as a market economy, including government-implemented controls and restrictions on the conversion of rubles into other currencies, increased government restrictions on investments by firms from foreign countries and increased government control of the assets of companies that departed Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.