The Biden administration is trying to maintain sanctions pressure while avoiding “a global economic catastrophe,” the agency says
The Biden administration is privately urging leading US banks like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup to continue doing business with strategic Russian firms despite sanctions imposed on Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine, people familiar with the issue told Bloomberg.
The requests have been made by the US Treasury and State Departments as the government tries to maintain pressure on Russia, but at the same time avoid “a global economic catastrophe,” the news agency reported on Monday.
Washington has been requesting services such as US dollar settlements, payment transfers, and trade finance for Russian firms that are exempt from certain aspects of the sanctions, including gas giant Gazprom and fertilizer producers Uralkali and PhosAgro, the sources said.
As a result, the largest American banks are currently being “caught in the push-pull” between the Biden administration and Congress, which insists on harsher measures against Moscow.
The sanctions prevent US banks from providing services to blacklisted entities and people, with violations punishable by multibillion-dollar fines.
Jamie Dimon the CEO of investment bank JPMorgan Chase was reportedly grilled at a congressional hearing in September over his company allegedly using loopholes in the sanctions regime to keep working with Russia. The banker responded by saying that “we are following the instructions of the American government as they asked us to do it.”
When addressed on the matter by Bloomberg, a Treasury spokesman said that it had issued guidance to banks, clarifying that activities in humanitarian aid, energy, and agriculture are authorized. JPMorgan and Citigroup have declined to comment.
“Congress needs to understand this - the US government has not imposed a comprehensive embargo with Russia, there’s still pockets of business that are allowed,” Nnedinma Ifudu Nweke, an attorney specializing in US economic sanctions at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, pointed out.
The Treasury “will continue to have meetings to educate banks on those pockets of allowable transactions, especially in the humanitarian space,” Nweke added.
https://www.rt.com/russia/566119-us-banks-sanctions-ukraine/
eurofascism
The European Union is out of control and out of touch with reality. They announced a new round of sanctions on individuals and groups who refuse to drink the EU kool-aid on Ukriane. I was particularly shocked and angered by their decision to punish Colonel Jacques Baud:
Jacques Baud, a former Swiss army colonel and strategic analyst, is a regular guest on pro-Russian television and radio programmes. He acts as a mouthpiece for pro-Russian propaganda and makes conspiracy theories, for example accusing Ukraine of orchestrating its own invasion in order to join NATO.
Therefore, Jacques Baud is responsible for, implementing or supporting actions or policies attributable to the Government of the Russian Federation which undermine or threaten stability or security in a third country (Ukraine) by engaging in the use of information manipulation and interference.”
You know it is a serious matter of egregious abuse of power when Dr. Gilbert Doctorow and I are in firm agreement… Here ...
Volkswagen is shutting down its Dresden plant—the first closure in its 88-year history—due to skyrocketing energy costs, plummeting sales and geopolitical pressures. The "Transparent Factory" was once a symbol of VW's EV ambitions but failed commercially, producing fewer than 200,000 vehicles since 2001.
Up to 35,000 German jobs could be slashed by 2030, including thousands in R&D, as part of a brutal restructuring. Germany's economy is in a "structural crisis" due to disastrous energy policies (anti-Russia sanctions), rising production costs and collapsing competitiveness.
The European Union's rejection of Russian oil/gas crippled German industry, while China dominates EV sales and U.S. tariffs hurt exports. Analysts warn Volkswagen faces severe cash flow pressures by 2026, forcing cuts to gasoline R&D despite weak EV demand.
The Dresden plant will be repurposed into an AI, robotics and microchip research hub, aligning with the globalist agenda: Centralized control by elites, ...
Sanctions aimed at weakening Russia have backfired spectacularly, Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told Corriere della Sera.
19 rounds of sanctions cobbled together in nearly four years have boomeranged, bringing the West’s economies “to their knees,” Matteo Salvini emphasized, adding that they sent Italian household energy bills “soaring.”
Salvini also urged caution amid Europe’s growing militarization, fueled by what he described as an alleged “phantom threat” from Russia.
After all, “if Hitler and Napoleon couldn’t conquer Moscow through military campaigns,” he noted, it’s "hardly likely" that people like European Commission Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas, French President Macron, UK Prime Minister Starmer, or German Chancellor Merz would succeed either, Salvini added.....more below
