The U.S. and its partners are prepared to use sanctions and export controls to prevent China-Russia trade that threatens their security amid the ongoing Ukraine war, a White House official said on May 28.
White House Deputy National Security Adviser For International Economics Daleep Singh said the countries could also further act to increase Russia's cost of using a shadow fleet to evade the Group of Seven countries' oil price cap.
They could also broaden current sanctions language regarding financial facilitation given Moscow's moves to shift its economy to war footing, he said, although he declined to say if the U.S. and its allies were moving to adopt secondary sanctions.
He noted that Russia was utterly dependent on China, giving Beijing "enormous leverage" over Moscow's ability to project power, and China faced risks and costs as well, given its combined goods trade with the European Union and the U.S. was seven times that of its trade with Russia.
"To be clear, we have no desire to disrupt all trade between Russia and China, but we and our partners are prepared to use our sanctions and our export controls to prevent the trade of goods and technologies that threaten our collective security," he said.
He said Russia-China trade had dropped since U.S. President Joe Biden had expanded Treasury's ability to target financial institutions, adding authorities may expand further.
Singh told an event hosted by the Brookings Institution think tank that Western countries needed to intensify efforts to prevent Moscow's circumvention of sanctions, and urged U.S. companies to ensure their products were not unwittingly aiding Russia's war effort.
He said the G7 leaders' summit next month was the best chance to shore up Ukraine's financing gap by planning to monetize around $300 billion in frozen Russian assets, a move he said was risky but necessary.
"Of course there are risks involved in mobilizing these assets, the policy is all about tradeoffs," Singh told an event at the Brookings Institution. "I think sanctions are doing their job, relative to the objectives that we set."
There was no consensus yet among the G7 countries on monetizing frozen Russian assets, which could quickly provide Kyiv with at least $50 billion in additional funding, but Washington was pressing for agreement given the dire situation facing Ukraine on the battlefield, Singh said.
Leaders from the G7 leading democracies are scheduled to gather in Italy from June 13 through June 15.
Recommended Reading
CEO: Vital to Chase Less-developed Delaware Zones with $1.1B Deal
2024-07-29 - With the acquisition of Point Energy Partners, Vital Energy is growing in the Texas Delaware Basin—where Vital has already done several deals and has worked to optimize drilling and spacing designs.
Permian Resources Announces Financing Moves Following Oxy Deal
2024-07-29 - Permian Resources’ will offer cash for its senior notes Due 2026, among other financing moves, following a July 29 agreement to buy Delaware Basin assets from Occidental Petroleum for $817.5 million.
UAE’s Masdar Grows Presence in Spain with Endesa Solar Deal
2024-07-29 - Masdar agreed to acquire a 49.99% stake in 48 solar plants controlled by Spanish utility Endesa.
Eni to Close Sale of Alaska Assets to Hilcorp by Year-end
2024-07-29 - Italian energy giant Eni SpA looks to close its divestment of its Alaska assets to Hilcorp Energy Co. by year-end 2024, to high-grade its upstream portfolio, according to Eni’s CEO.
TotalEnergies Exits from Offshore South Africa Blocks
2024-07-29 - TotalEnergies’ departure comes after partner CNR International also withdrew from the same blocks.