.AP report: Despite President Joe Biden's pledge to use sanctions to punish Russia, more than 3,600 Russian shipments of wood, metals, rubber and other goods have reached U.S. ports since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“When we impose sanctions, it could disrupt global trade. So our job is to think about which sanctions deliver the most impact while also allowing global trade to work,” Ambassador Jim O’Brien, who heads the State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination, told the AP.
While some U.S. importers are sourcing alternative materials elsewhere, others say they have no choice. In the case of wood imports, Russia’s dense birch forests create such hard, strong timber that most American wooden classroom furniture, and much home flooring, is made from it. Shipping containers of Russian items — groats, weightlifting shoes, crypto mining gear, even pillows — arrive at U.S. ports almost every day.
“The basic idea with sanctions is that you’re trying to act in a way that causes more pain to the other side and less pain to yourself,” he said.Most American companies dealing in metals have longstanding relationships with Russian suppliers. Such trade, particularly of aluminum, has continued virtually uninterrupted since the beginning of the war.
Also, among the private companies choosing to source materials from Russia are U.S. government contractors supported by federal tax dollars. Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company signed a federal contract for up to $23.8 billion in 2021; it imported 20 tons of aluminum in June from Kamensk-Uralsky Metallurgical Works. In March, the U.S. banned exports to Kamensk-Uralsky because it supplies metals to the Russian military, but placed no restrictions on imports.
He said that on top of the tariff, he had to put up an $800,000 bond to ensure he’d pay the tax, further driving up prices. “That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at U.S. ports, and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine,” he said. Monroe spokesman Adam Gattuso said the company has not received any more Russian fuel and doesn’t “anticipate doing so for the foreseeable future.” Valero did not respond to requests for comment.
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