3,600 shipments received.
QUICK FACTS:
- The United States has reportedly continued to accept Russian imports throughout the nation’s conflict with Ukraine.
- A recent report estimates that about 3,600 shipments of wood, metals, rubber, and other items have arrived in the United States since the conflict began in February.
- President Joe Biden had promised to impose a “crushing blow” to Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, by restricting imports.
- Biden vowed to put a stop to imports like vodka, diamonds, and gasoline, however other goods reportedly worth billions of dollars, are still flowing into the United States.
- Some of those imports have been justified by “wind down” periods that allow companies to complete existing contracts.
EXPLANATIONS FROM EXPERTS:
- “When we impose sanctions, it could disrupt global trade. So our job is to think about which sanctions deliver the most impact while also allowing global trade to work,” Ambassador Jim O’Brien, who heads the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination, told members of the media.
- Russian economist Konstantin Sonin, who teaches at the University of Chicago, also had an explanation saying, “It is a general rule: when you have sanctions, you’ll have all kinds of murky schemes and illicit trade. Still, sanctions make sense because even though you cannot kill 100% of revenues, you can reduce them.”
BACKGROUND:
- Biden announced just weeks after the start of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in February that he would be slashing Russian imports of alcohol and seafood as a punishment for the invasion.
- Several weeks later, in early April, Biden signed legislation that blocked Russian oil from being imported and several other bills that were allegedly constructed to economically isolate Russia.
- In the year 2019, the United States did $5.6 trillion worth of business with Russia through importing, exporting, and other services.
