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The administration of President Joe Biden, in the final stages of his term, has taken an important step to ensure the long-term sustainability of sanctions measures against Russia by using a 2017 law. These measures are intended to make it more difficult for a future administration to ease pressure on Moscow.
Under the new rules announced by the US Treasury Department on Wednesday, about 100 key Russian companies, ranging from major arms manufacturers to the Moscow Stock Exchange, have been added to the sanctions list. From now on, any decision to remove entities from the list must be reviewed by the US Congress within 30 days. If the Congress opposes it, the delisting process will be blocked, according to the Financial Times.
Such a control mechanism was introduced as part of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which was passed after Russia’s interference in the 2016 US elections. The Biden administration has used this law as a legal basis for strengthening sanctions, a strategic move to prevent the possibility of their easing by the next president, Donald Trump.
In addition, secondary sanctions now apply to companies that knowingly facilitate the activities of organisations subject to primary sanctions. This significantly limits the new administration’s ability to apply the existing restrictions, narrowing the room for manoeuvre.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo stressed that “today’s actions undermine the Kremlin’s ability to circumvent our sanctions and access the goods it needs to wage war in Ukraine”. The expansion of secondary sanctions is intended to significantly reduce Russia’s ability to generate revenue and essential goods, sending a clear message to all participants in international trade.
Sanctions were also imposed against 15 organisations involved in the creation of “regional clearing platforms” in Russia and China to facilitate cross-border payments for sanctioned goods, which is another step in the international pressure on the Russian economy.
