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President Joe Biden's administration is seeking to “fortify” Trump's sanctions against Russia by giving Congress the ability to block any attempts to weaken measures against core parts of Moscow's war machine.
Under measures announced by the US Treasury on Wednesday, about 100 entities from the financial, energy and defense sectors will be relisted under an unusual sanctions law that requires Congress to be given 30 days to consider any delisting.
The list of affected entities extends from military entities such as the Tactical Missile Company, which manufactures weapons, to the Moscow Stock Exchange, a major financial exchange.
The new authority will give lawmakers an opportunity to fend off any attempts by the new White House to reverse the Biden administration's efforts to weaken Russia's military industrial efforts. If both houses of Congress approve a “disapproval procedure,” delistings could be blocked.
European allies are also examining a wide range of sanctions and trade measures imposed under Biden Assess the potential impact From Donald Trump, defeat them.
The new legal basis for these listings will also reduce the new administration's discretion to avoid enforcement of existing measures by imposing “mandatory” secondary sanctions on companies that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for or on behalf of any of these entities.
“Today’s actions thwart the Kremlin’s ability to circumvent our sanctions and obtain the goods they need to build weapons for their preferred war in Ukraine,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. Expanding today's mandatory secondary sanctions will reduce Russia's access to revenues and goods.
A senior US Treasury official said they were “trying to send a signal to . . . the entire ecosystem about circumvention” not to risk doing business with anyone on the sanctions lists.
The legislation, the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, was passed in 2017 after concerns about Russian interference in the US election. we And Europe.
On Wednesday, the Treasury Department also announced new sanctions on Kyrgyzstan's Keremet Bank. It said the bank is “strongly linked to a Russian oligarch with ties to the Russian government” and “aims to create a sanctions evasion hub for Russia to pay for imports and receive payments for exports.”
The new lists also cover an additional 15 individuals and entities that have established “regional clearing platforms” in Russia and China to facilitate cross-border payments for sanctioned goods. The platforms are said to facilitate “cashless mutual settlement.”
