March 14, 2022

On Friday, President Biden announced that the United States, European Union, and G7 will implement new economic sanctions “to hold Putin accountable for his continued assault on Ukraine and further isolate Russia from the global financial system.” 

The U.S. and its allies account for more than half of the global economy. According to the White House briefing, each partner will implement actions consistent with their national processes. 

Bipartisan leadership is working towards revoking Permanent Normal Trade Relations from Russia. The move will downgrade the United States’ trade status with Russia as President Biden confers with Congress to remove Russia’s most favored nation status whilst denying Russia the benefits of its World Trade Organization membership. 

Friday's announcement delivered another severe punishment to Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The ruble is now worth less than one U.S. cent while a growing list of companies has shuttered operations in Russia. 

The G7 leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom will ensure that Russia cannot obtain financing from the leading multilateral financial institutions, including the IMF and the World Bank. 

Furthermore, full blocking sanctions will be issued against additional Russian Elites and their family members. Any assets they hold in the United States will be frozen and they will be forbidden from traveling to the U.S. 

President Biden will sign an Executive Order that will ban Russian imports of seafood, spirits/vodka, and diamonds, denying Russia more than $1 billion in export revenues. The United States can “impose additional import bans as appropriate”, according to the White House. 

Congress must act in order to officially revoke Russia’s trade classification as a member of the World Trade Organization. 

Photo Credit: Casablanca Stock / Shutterstock.com

Courtney Shum
Urner Barry
1-732-240-5330
cshum@urnerbarry.com