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Bloomberg
The US announced details of limited new sanctions against Russia over the March poisoning in the UK of a former Russian agent and his daughter, the latest sign relations between the former Cold War foes continue to deteriorate.
Restrictions released by the State Department target remaining sources of foreign assistance and arms sales to Russia, and deny any US credit to Russia, including through the Export-Import Bank. The announcement follows the Trump administration’s decision in March to expel 60 Russian diplomats and shutter a consulate in Seattle.
The latest measures appear far less stringent, though, than proposals being considered in Congress, where lawmakers from both parties have urged the administration to take a tougher stance against Moscow. The announcement also said that waivers to the new sanctions, which are to take effect upon publication in the Federal Register on August 27, were included for “national security†reasons, including for things such as flight safety, wholly-owned US subsidiaries, and space flight.
The restrictions follow the US conclusion, reached about five months after the UK attack, that “the Russian Federation has used chemical weapons in violation of international law,†according to the State Department. A State Department official said the main impact of the new measures will be on access by Russian state-owned and state-funded enterprises to goods and technology with national security value.