“We are sliding into an economic war”: what could be Russia’s response to new US sanctions?

Russia has promised to respond to new US sanctions. And although the Kremlin is advising that it is too early to talk about specific measures, Bloomberg, citing representatives of the Russian authorities, allows the use of the counter-sanctions law adopted in the spring and the imposition of a ban on the export of Russian rocket engines.

Details

• Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would work out retaliatory measures, adding that "it is useless to issue ultimatums to Russia."
• The Kremlin spoke more carefully, saying that it was too early to talk about countermeasures. “We heard an official statement about the new so-called sanctions, and we heard a certain high-ranking source who spoke about the possibility of certain restrictions against Russia. Therefore, until we have understood specifically and officially what is at stake, it would be wrong to talk about some kind of countermeasures, ” said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the president.
• However, Bloomberg, citing several representatives of the Russian authorities, reports that Russia may respond to the United States by imposing restrictions on trade as part of a bill on counter-sanctions recently adopted by the State Duma. Countermeasures could include cutting off the supply of rocket engines needed by the US aviation and space industry. about imposing restrictions on the export of rocket engines . Sergei Ryabukhin, Chairman of the Federation Council Budget Committee, also spoke
• “The law [on counter-sanctions] allows the authorities to introduce retaliatory measures... Russia has a fairly large and stable economy, so we are not afraid to take such measures,” said Dmitry Mezentsev, chairman of the Federation Council committee on economic policy.

Context

• The counter-sanctions bill, which was signed on June 4, allows the head of state to retaliate against sanctions from the United States and other countries. In particular, the president may establish a ban or restriction on the import and export of products or raw materials from such countries. It is also indicated that the Russian leader has the right to take "other measures" of influence. At the same time, the document does not apply to essential goods, the analogues of which are not produced in Russia or in other countries.
• On the eve of the administration of Donald trump decided to introduce new sanctions against Russia in punishment for the poisoning of ex-GRU Colonel Sergei Skripal in the UK. As part of the first round of sanctions on August 22, Washington may limit the export of dual-use products to Russia. The second round of sanctions provides for more serious measures, up to a complete rupture of trade relations and a ban on flights to the United States of the Russian national air carrier.
• The new US sanctions were announced just a month after Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Helsinki. It was expected that this meeting could lead to a warming of relations between the countries. However, a bipartisan bill was introduced to the US Congress last week on new sanctions. The publication of the full text of the American sanctions bill, which revealed a proposal to introduce tough sanctions against Russian state-owned banks, caused the strongest shock on the Russian market since the April sanctions.

If Russia nevertheless takes counter-sanctions against the United States, this could provoke a real trade conflict between the countries. "We are sliding into an economic war," said Vladimir Vasilyev, a senior expert at the Moscow-based Institute for the US and Canada.

Liana Faizova