Biden administration considers a ban on Russian aluminum

2022-10-12

Biden administration considers a ban on Russian aluminum – integral to cars, skyscrapers and iPhones – in response to Putin’s escalation in Ukraine

Officials say they are considering all options when it comes to Ukraine
That includes a total ban on Russian aluminium, according to Bloomberg
It comes after Russia rained down missiles on Ukrainian cities this week
Meanwhile the Russian economy is doing better than expected amid sanctions

The Biden administration is reportedly considering a total ban on Russian aluminum after Russia stepped up its assault on Ukraine with a storm of missiles directed at civilian targets this week.

The White House is weighing an outright ban, raising tariffs to levels so punishing they would impose an effective ban, or sanctioning United Co Rusal International PJSC, the company that produces Russia’s metal, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the decision-making.

Russia is the world’s second biggest producer of the metal.

And Russian aluminum accounts for about ten percent of all U.S. imports of the metal, which is used in everything from iPhones to automobiles and fighter jets.

The European Union and the U.S. have largely held off sanctioning industrial metals, and Reuters reported last month that the two markets had increased purchases of Russian aluminum by as much as 70 percent.

At the same time, the Russian economy has continued to perform better than expected despite repeated waves of economic sanctions.

The Biden administration is considering a total ban on Russian aluminum after Russia stepped up its assault on Ukraine with a storm of missiles directed at civilian targets this week

The Biden administration has imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Moscow, but Russia’s economy has confounded experts and continues to be stronger than expected

The trigger is reportedly a round of missile strikes launched by Russia against civilian targets

Aluminum has escaped sanctions until now, in part because it is used in everything from iPhones to automobiles and fighter jets

That has left few targets for world leaders intent on increasing pressure on Moscow.

As a result, officials have been mulling a move on Russian aluminum for weeks.

‘We’re always considering all options. There is no movement on this as of now,’ a White House official said in response to the report.

The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Russian attacks using more than 100 missiles have killed at least 26 people across Ukraine since Monday, when Putin ordered what he called retaliatory strikes against Ukraine for an explosion on a bridge.

Rusal , the world’s largest aluminum producer outside China, did not immediately reply to a Reuters’ request for comment.

President Joe Biden repeated his condemnation of Russia’s latest tactic, targeting missiles on energy facilities and residential areas.

‘It’s brutal, it’s beyond the pale,’ he said, a day after he pledged ongoing assistance to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

83 Russian missiles were launched at Ukraine on Monday, striking power stations, water supplies and civilians across the country – killing eight and wounding 24 in Kyiv alone

Meanwhile, his defense secretary was meeting with partners and allies in shoring up Ukraine’s armed resistance.

Lloyd Austin led a Ukraine Contact Group meeting in Brussels, part of a two-day series of talks with other defense ministers.

‘The Russian invasion isn’t over, the fighting isn’t over, and neither is international support to Ukraine’s right and capability to defend itself,’ said an administration official.

Putin has raised the specter of deploying tactical nuclear weapons, although U.S. officials say they have yet to see a change in Russia’s nuclear posture.

The White House also issued a new national security policy focused on ‘outcompeting China and restraining Russia.’

‘Russia and the PRC pose different challenges,’ Biden wrote.

‘Russia poses an immediate threat to the free and open international system, recklessly flouting the basic laws of the international order today, as its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine has shown.’

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