“President-elect Donald Trump’s advisers are developing a wide-ranging sanctions strategy to help broker a diplomatic deal between Russia and Ukraine in the coming months while simultaneously putting pressure on Iran and Venezuela, people familiar with the matter said.”, — write: epravda.com.ua
President-elect Donald Trump’s advisers are developing a wide-ranging sanctions strategy to help broker a diplomatic deal between Russia and Ukraine in the coming months while simultaneously putting pressure on Iran and Venezuela. Bloomberg writes about it. On Friday, the outgoing Biden administration imposed the most devastating sanctions on oil trade with Russia of any Western power to date. The move left open the question of how Trump views the measures, given his commitment to a quick end to the war in Ukraine.Advertisement: Trump’s team is considering two main approaches to dealing with the Russian sanctions situation. One option involves certain measures to support Russian oil producers under sanctions if a peace deal in Ukraine is deemed imminent. Another approach is based on strengthening sanctions to increase pressure on Moscow and increase leverage. The chosen approach will have important consequences for the global oil market. Since the announcement of the measures by the Biden administration, Brent oil futures have risen by almost $5 per barrel. Experts predict a possible further increase in prices, which will affect the global fuel markets. At the moment, the Trump team’s plans are in the development stage, and the final decision depends on the position of the president-elect. Last week, Trump announced preparations for a meeting with Putin, which could indicate potential negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Trump’s cabinet nominees, former sanctions officials and conservative think tanks joined the strategy discussion. The composition of key officials who will be responsible for economic policy has not yet been determined. The first test will be mid-March, when the general license to curtail purchases of Russian energy carriers expires. If it is not continued, it will increase the pressure on Russia. Trump’s team experts believe that the tough scenario involves strengthening secondary sanctions on oil trade, imposing restrictions on European shippers and Asian buyers, such as large companies from China and India. Another measure could be control over tankers that transport Russian oil through the strategically important Turkish and Danish straits. In the case of a softer approach, it is possible to issue general licenses and increase the price limit for oil to more than 60 dollars per barrel. This may stimulate the continued supply of Russian oil to the market. Read also: Trump plans to collapse oil prices. How realistic is it and how will it affect Russia? We will remind:Advertisement: Exports of oil products from Russia reached an 11-month high in January, despite new US sanctions against the country’s energy sector. The US Treasury Department’s Foreign Assets Control Office has imposed sanctions against the two largest oil companies of the Russian Federation, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz, as well as ship insurance providers Ingosstrakh and Alfastrahovanie. According to the Financial Times, the measures include blacklisting 183 “shadow fleet” vessels involved in the export of energy resources from Russia.