Input Stories

Input Stories

U.S., Allies Take Economic Action to Counter Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

By NAM News Room

In a highly coordinated effort, the U.S. and its allies have imposed a series of economic sanctions and other measures against Russia. The NAM’s international economic affairs team broke down the facts for us.

What the U.S. has done: The U.S. has implemented a wide range of sanctions against the Russian government and Russian institutions and individuals.

  • Most recently, on Feb. 28, the Treasury Department prohibited “U.S. persons” from engaging in transactions with the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.
  • On Feb. 26, President Joe Biden and the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada issued a joint statement that removed selected Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system and imposed measures to prevent the Russian Central Bank from using its international reserves.
  • On Feb. 24, the Biden administration announced the imposition of export controls aimed at denying Russia access to key high-technology products and hampering Russia’s ability to sustain and modernize its defense, maritime and aerospace sectors. The unpublished Final Rule can be accessed here and provides a full explanation of the new export controls.
  • On Feb. 24, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions cutting off Russia’s two largest financial institutions, Sberbank and VTB Bank, from processing payments through the U.S. financial system. It imposed blocking sanctions on three additional Russian banks.
  • On Feb. 22, the White House announced the full blocking of two other Russian state-owned financial institutions, Vnesheconombank and Promsvyazbank.

What allies have done: In addition to removing selected Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system, U.S. allies in Europe, Asia and beyond have imposed measures of their own.

  • On Feb. 24, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the freezing of the assets of Russian banks, including VTB, the suspension of all dual-use export licenses to Russia and the prohibition of high-technology exports to Russia, including semiconductors, aircraft parts and oil refinery equipment.
  • On Feb. 24, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz halted certification of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, putting a stop to a project that would have sent gas directly from Russia to Germany. 
  • On Feb. 23, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a series of sanctions against Russia and the two pro-Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.
  • On Feb. 22, the U.K. announced a series of other sanctions against Russia, including the freezing of assets of five other Russian banks and travel bans on certain Russian individuals. 

The last word: The NAM continues to monitor the situation in Ukraine, and we will share regular updates with our members on actions taken by the Biden administration, Congress and U.S. allies as the crisis continues to unfold.

View More