USA and EU want to restrict technology exports to Russia

Russia’s economy has an Achilles’ heel: semiconductors. They are needed for almost everything today, but Russian companies can hardly produce them without American technology. Export bans could hit Russia harder than all the sanctions imposed so far.

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The White House is preparing a measure that will significantly restrict Western technology exports to Russia. If Putin invades Ukraine, “we will cut him off from access to Western technology,” Wally Adeyemo, US Deputy Treasury Secretary, told CNBC on Wednesday. A few hours later, Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Union’s Trade Commissioner, addressed the public. He said the EU is ready to impose a second package of sanctions against Russia, including export bans.

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