JRL NEWSWATCH: “Claims That Sanctions Hurt Europe More Than Russia Are Wrong” – Foreign Policy

“A false narrative is being peddled by the Kremlin and its Western friends.”

“… Russia has never been a major market for EU firms, with Russian businesses buying just 4 percent of EU exports in 2021. [A]bout half of EU exports to Russia fall under sanctions … [so] only 2 percent of EU exports are affected …. [S]anctions do not prevent European firms from doing business in Russia except in some specific sectors … [M]any companies have chosen to pull out  … [over] reputational risks or because they do not want to pay Russian taxes and thus contribute to Moscow’s war. The second cause of [EU] losses is a spike in asset seizures, with the Kremlin forcing many European firms to sell their assets under value ….”

Meanwhile, while Indian refiners now take most Russian crude oil exports from Baltic ports, Russia is forced to sell oil to India at steep discounts, and sea routes to India are far longer and costlier than transport to Europe.

According to a Kyiv School of Economics study, Russia has lost an estimated $113 billion in oil export earnings over the past two years, mainly due to the EU embargo. In 2023, when both the EU embargo and G-7/EU oil price cap became fully effective, Russia’s overall trade surplus shrank by 63 percent to $118 billion.  This constriction helped limit Russia’s financial capacity to wage war.

Click here for: “Claims That Sanctions Hurt Europe More Than Russia Are Wrong; A false narrative is being peddled by the Kremlin and its Western friends.” – Foreign Policy: Agathe Demarais

Claims That Sanctions Hurt Europe More Than Russia Are Wrong