The United States has imposed sanctions on Russia one after another, and recently it has issued three heavy blows in succession.
’s first punch: ban Russia’s gold.
This week, the Group of Seven Major Industrial Countries (G7) summit and the NATO summit were held successively. The
G7 summit was held in Bavaria, Germany on June 26 and lasted for three days. The Russia-Ukraine crisis is the key issue of this summit, in order to ensure that all countries are consistent in supporting , Ukraine, and . Economic issues are another focus of discussion at the G7 summit, with rising energy prices and food supply crises becoming thorny issues to be addressed at the summit.
Before the G7 summit, Biden announced on Twitter that G7 members had reached a consensus that all countries would ban the import of Russian gold because Russia "earned tens of billions of dollars" by exporting gold. Precious metals are Russia's second largest export commodity, after oil, natural gas, and other energy sources. Among them, 90% of Russia's gold is exported to G7 countries.
Regarding the decision of G7 group member states to ban Russian gold, EU is cautious, saying that banning Russian gold is okay, but it must first ensure that it hurts the enemy but not itself. The EU needs to determine more things before signing the US proposal. . EU Summit Chairman Michel said that we are willing to make decisions together with our partners, but we want to ensure that the matters decided will have a negative impact on the Russian economy and not have a negative impact on us.
second punch: putting a cap on Russian oil prices.
G7 has put pressure on Russia through various economic means, including banning or phasing out the import of Russian oil.
has recently come up with a new trick. The G7 group considers setting a cap on Russian oil prices. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said this was "moving in the right direction."
Recently, G7 leaders have negotiated limits on Russian oil prices. It remains to be seen how, when and to what extent Russian oil prices will be capped, but the exact mechanism for achieving the cap is said to be worked out at the summit.
A U.S. government official said the goal of the cap is to "starve" Russia's main source of cash and "depress the price of Russian oil" to help mitigate the impact of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
With oil prices soaring, Russia's oil revenues are actually increasing despite a global ban on imports. G7 leaders hope to use their collective influence to cut the revenue Russia receives from countries that still buy its oil.
The third punch: increase tariffs on specific Russian imported products to 35%.
The White House issued an announcement on June 28 that U.S. President Biden would increase the tariff rate on certain Russian imported products to 35%. This is because Russia’s most-favored-nation trade status has been canceled after Russia attacked Ukraine. The
announcement stated that the higher 35% tariff rate applies to "the import of certain other products from Russia, the import of which has not yet been banned", but the White House has not yet released the relevant annex listing these products that are subject to higher tariffs.
The United States has previously banned the import of Russian oil and energy products, fish, seafood, alcoholic beverages and non-industrial diamonds.
Putin will visit Tajikistan and Turkmenistan
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit the Central Asian country Tajikistan on June 28. This is the first foreign visit after the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Putin is expected to travel to Turkmenistan on June 29 to attend the Caspian Sea Coastal Countries Summit. The countries participating in the meeting include Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are both small countries in Central Asia and have relatively good relations with Russia. Tajikistan was the poorest country under the Soviet system and was heavily economically dependent on Russia.
Putin's visit to these two countries is likely to seek their support for the Russia-Ukraine war. At the same time, the purpose is also to strengthen ties with these two Central Asian countries and prevent them from following Kazakhstan.
In addition, in the face of a series of sanctions imposed by Japan and Canada, Moscow also launched a counterattack.
Russia recently announced sanctions on 43 Canadian citizens, banning them from entering the country, in a tit-for-tat response to Western sanctions against Russia.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently announced the latest sanctions against Russia, including a ban on Russian gold imports, freezing of more Russian assets, and export bans on a series of Russian individuals and companies.
In response, Russian Ambassador to Japan Glukin issued a statement on Facebook criticizing that taking sanctions is short-sighted and will hurt Japan itself. He also emphasized: "Of course, as more and more such hostile policies are adopted, we will adjust the way we treat Japan in the future and will definitely respond. (Inoue Wana)
