An American magazine revealed that President Joe Biden’s administration is seeking to dry up the sources of Russian ammunition by depriving it of even small electronic chips.
American Politico magazine reported that President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to deprive Russia of machines that contain small electronic chips, such as coffee makers, toasters, air-cooling units, hair dryers, and even microwaves.
The magazine quoted US officials as saying that these household items contain microchips and other components that Russia has used to repair and replace military equipment.
On Friday, the administration issued a list of new rules seeking to deny Russia access to even the low-level chips that can be found in basic electronic devices.
“We see that Russia is increasingly using dual-use goods to bolster its military-industrial complex, extracting semiconductors from everything from refrigerators to microwaves in order to put them into military equipment,” said US Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyou.
He added, “What we will do is further tighten our export controls and sanctions to go after those dual-use goods that we know enhance their war effort.”
long list
At the outset of the war, the United States mobilized a group of 36 countries to coordinate so-called export controls that prevented Moscow from buying the advanced chips and software that fueled its war machine.
However, Russia continues to supply its military through unconventional means, which are testing the limits of the alliance’s export restrictions, and that experience has forced a rethink of how the United States applies Cold War-era regulations not only to Russia, but also long-time adversaries such as Russia. China and Iran.
On Friday, the Commerce Department added hundreds of other items, from kitchen appliances to auto parts, to a list that now requires a special license to export to Russia, which would be denied anyway.
It expanded export controls targeting Iran, which continues to supply the Russian military, and placed 86 entities on a trade blacklist for their continued support for the war effort.
The export control measures were part of broader enforcement measures taken by the United States and the G7 country on Friday.
The Treasury Department separately imposed sanctions on 200 people and entities in the financial, defense, mining and other vital sectors of the Russian economy. The administration raised tariffs on 100 Russian steel, metal and chemical products.
And the American newspaper stated that even while the Biden administration worked to prevent the sale of important materials to Russia, other countries interfered in this violation, noting that exports to Russia from China, Belarus, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Uzbekistan exceed levels from the period before the war, according to a report from The nonprofit Silverado Policy Accelerator.
This could happen with the latest round of restrictions as well, unless the United States persuades more countries to adopt similar trade restrictions, experts said, noting that the United States should continue cracking down on companies it finds selling banned technology to the Russian military. .