Economic sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia are practically ineffectual

Russia’s foreign trade with Ukraine is almost at pre-war levels, and neighboring countries serve as a platform for the import and export of all types of goods, The New York Times reports today.

The American newspaper writes that economic sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine by most Western countries, including the European Union (EU) and the United States, do not take effect, backing up the statement with trade data. countries and indicators of international organizations.

Two indicators that the sanctions are not working are the stability of the Russian currency, the ruble, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast released on Monday that the Russian economy will grow by 0.3 this year. %, well above the -2.3% decline in previous forecasts.

Russia stopped publishing data on its foreign trade after invading Ukraine, the newspaper said, but analysis of figures from neighboring countries shows an increase that indicates that they are supplying Moscow with many goods whose trade should have been interrupted by sanctions. .

Whereas the port of St. Petersburg, Russia’s largest, no longer accepts goods such as cell phones, auto parts or household appliances, these goods now arrive by road from non-sanctioned countries such as Belarus, China, Armenia or Kazakhstan. writes The New York Times.

Purchases of this type of product by some countries are “in such quantity that they can only be explained by the fact that they have another (final) recipient, as in the case of Armenia,” he says.

In addition, the port of Istanbul in Turkey has become a de facto port of entry for many goods destined for Russia, as cargoes are sent from there to the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

Another important piece of information mentioned in the article is commercial traffic between China and Russia, which hit record highs in December after a period of adjustment just after the invasion.

Russia has also found several ways to circumvent the conditions and restrictions placed on its oil exports, the main one being to use intermediaries based in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, India, Pakistan, Indonesia or Malaysia who buy shipments of Russian oil, then resell writes the North American newspaper.

Matthew Klein, an economist and co-author of a book on trade wars, calculated that global exports to Russia last November were only 15% below Ukraine’s pre-invasion figures.

Another expert cited by the newspaper is Ami Daniel, director of the marine company Windward, who says he has repeatedly observed in recent months Russian ships transfer their oil cargoes to ships under a different flag on the high seas in international waters or turn off their satellite receivers. therefore they cannot be determined.