U.S. Announces New PUNISHMENT for Russia – Look What it Is
(RepublicanReport.org) – Ever since the end of February, the Russian war in Ukraine has shown no signs of slowing down. However, with Western nations united in their imposition of severe economic sanctions on the Kremlin. As Ukrainian cities continue to suffer under brutal Russian bombardment, the US and a number of allies have devised yet another way to target Moscow economically; halting imports of Russian gold.
Treasury Department Bans Gold Imports From Russia
On Tuesday, June 28, the US Treasury Department announced it would no longer allow imports of gold into the US from Russian providers. Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom will follow suit.
Gold is the most important Russian export other than energy. Experts believe Russian oligarchs and corporate entities had been producing more gold since the beginning of the Ukrainian invasion in an effort to offset the negative effects of sanctions on Moscow.
Tuesday’s Treasury Department announcement also revealed another 70 entities and 29 individuals with ties to Russia have been sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
Outside the US, other nations have attempted to punish Moscow by cutting Russia off from trade, freezing Russian assets in overseas bank accounts, and removing Russian banks from the international communication network known as SWIFT.
Are Sanctions Working?
Western leaders have been keen to tout their programs of sanctions as effective deterrents that are hurting Russian interests and will ultimately end the war without military intervention by NATO. However, the conflict has proceeded for months now and shows no sign of abating.
Part of the problem is the fact that many of the most effective sanctions against Russia also risk having a detrimental impact on the economies of the countries imposing them. The most obvious evidence of this is the price of gasoline, which has skyrocketed in the US and other Western nations. According to AAA’s online gas price tracker, the average price of a gallon of gas in the US was around $4.857 at the time of writing. That’s a slight decrease from the peaks above $5 we saw in recent weeks, but it’s still a lot more than Americans are used to paying to keep their vehicles on the road.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has played a role here by buying up Russian exports when other nations were unwilling to do so. This means Russia has been able to continue making profits through its export markets despite Western sanctions.
Do you think trade restrictions and other programs will ultimately succeed in convincing Russia to end the war?
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