Putin signs emergency decree to ban exports

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Tuesday of “special measures” to guarantee Russia’s economy and in which he authorizes the Government to prohibit exports of products and raw materials.

The objective of the decree is published to “ensure the security of the Russian Federation and the uninterrupted operation of the industry”, and will be in force until December 31, 2022, according to local Russian agencies.

The decree prohibits “exporting out of the Russian Federation” products and/or raw materials, which will be specified in the list approved by the Russian Government in the next two days.

These measures will not apply to “products and (or) raw materials exported from Russia and/or imported into the country by citizens of the Russian Federation, foreign citizens and stateless persons for personal use”.

With this decree, the Russian president confers to the Executive “the authority to determine the details of the application of the planned measures” both for products or raw materials and for natural or legal persons.

The Government will determine in two days the lists of foreign countries where the import of certain products and raw materials will be prohibited.

The announcement of this decree comes after the president of the United States, Joe Biden, announced that his country will ban US imports of “oil, gas and energy” from Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Also Tuesday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Russia said it has every right to take action if sanctions are imposed on its energy exports, such as placing an embargo on gas reaching Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

Novak stressed that with mutual sanctions on gas “nobody wins despite the fact that European politicians, with their claims and accusations, are pushing us towards it.”

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