The Biden administration, in an effort to tighten its enforcement of sanctions against Moscow, will put more emphasis on blocking countries and companies around the world from sending Russia products and technology that could be repurposed for military use, the Treasury’s No. 2 official said.
(Bloomberg) — The Biden administration, in an effort to tighten its enforcement of sanctions against Moscow, will put more emphasis on blocking countries and companies around the world from sending Russia products and technology that could be repurposed for military use, the Treasury’s No. 2 official said.
“We’re going to increasingly go after dual-use goods in order to make sure Russia isn’t able to turn their manufacturing plants into plants to build weapons of war,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said Friday on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power” with David Westin.
As an example, Adeyemo said Russia has turned to importing items like refrigerators and microwave ovens in order to strip them of semiconductors and reuse them for military purposes.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Feb. 23 said China had probably approved the sale of non-lethal dual-use products from its firms to Russia. Days earlier, he had warned China was considering whether to supply Russia weapons and ammunition to support Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine. Officials in China denied the charge, calling it “disinformation.”
Adeyemo’s remarks Friday showed that China wasn’t the only country the Treasury was keeping an eye on.
“We’ve made clear to Indian companies and Indian individuals that if they do things like provide Russia with material support — for example weapons or goods that can be used to make weapons — we’re going to be in a position where we use our sanctions and export controls to go after them as well,” he said.
Earlier Friday, the US issued a fresh round of sanctions, hitting more than 250 individuals and entities including MTS Bank, a Russian financial firm with ties to the United Arab Emirates.
Other targets included the Credit Bank of Moscow, one of Russia’s 10 largest banks, several wealth-management firms, arms dealers and suppliers of materials used in weapons and military equipment. Notably, the US also sanctioned German and Swiss nationals it says are tied to procuring western technologies for Russia.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.