EU seventh package
The Council of the European Union approved the seventh package of sanctions against Russia, including a partial ban on gold imports. This was stated by the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on her Twitter page.
The new EU sanctions list includes 55 natural and legal persons of Russia, and the import of dual-use goods is also prohibited. On the contrary, in violation of ICAO standards, the ban on the supply from Russia of a number of goods, services and technologies for the aviation industry has been lifted.
It is stated that such tolerances are related to ICAO international aviation safety standards.
According to von der Leyen, by the same decision, all previously imposed sanctions on the Russian Federation were extended until the end of January 2023.
“Member states [ЕС] The head of the EC approved our strengthened and expanded sanctions against the Kremlin,” he wrote.
Von der Leyen stated that the restrictions on Russia will come into effect after the publication of the new package in the Official Journal of the European Union, where all the details will be revealed.
Referring to the draft restrictive measure prepared earlier, Politico newspaper reported that the new sanction package developed against Moscow in the European Union and whose main purpose was accepted as an embargo on the purchase of Russian gold, will not be applied to jewellery. by the European Commission.
The publication claims that the EU will only ban powdered gold, raw gold, empty gold, as well as gold coins and waste or scrap gold.
“The project does not specify gold in the form of jewelry, such as gold chains or gold rings. This could leave gaps in the Kremlin treasury that would help money flow,” writes Politico.
Earlier, the EU agreed to ban the import of Russian coal, the embargo was supposed to go into effect in August. Following the announcement of the energy import ban, European exporters increased their purchases of Russian coal to 4.7 million tons in May 2022 (which is 80% more than in April).
At the same time, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the main restrictive measure against Russia is to stop buying Russian oil until the end of the year.
“Yes, Russia can sell its oil to other markets, but that advantage is limited by Russia having to give high discounts per barrel,” he said.
Britain rejects Russian gold
On July 21, the UK’s ban on imports of Russian gold goes into effect. This was reported on the British Cabinet website.
The provisions on sanctions against Russia were also changed.
“This amendment prohibits the importation of petroleum and petroleum products, coal and coal products and gold, as well as the direct or indirect purchase, supply and delivery of these goods,” London said in a statement.
The sanctions also prohibit the provision of financial services, brokerage and technical assistance related to these goods.
“The coal import ban will come into effect on 10 August 2022, and the oil import ban will come into effect on 31 December 2022,” the cabinet said.
What will happen to America?
At the end of June, the United States imposed a ban on gold imports from Russia. It did not touch the gold found outside the country at the time the embargo came into effect.
Experts believe that the revenues from gold exports do not exceed 4-5% of the total budget revenues of the Russian Federation, therefore, the ban on the purchase of Russian gold by Western countries will not have a significant impact on the country’s economy. The UK has been the main buyer of Russian gold over the past three years (accounting for almost 90%).).
Russia is one of the largest suppliers of this metal. It exports several billion euros worth of gold every year. According to the Ministry of Finance and the Federal Customs Service, in 2021 Russian enterprises produced 346.4 tons of gold, exporting 87% of production, bringing in $ 17.4 billion.
The main buyers in the gold market are India, which consumes about 800-900 tons of gold per year, and China, which is about 1000 tons.