August 18, 2014
Pointless Punishment
The Obama administration has responded to increasing Russian aggression by stepping up its own efforts to inflict economic pain on Moscow and isolate it diplomatically. The United States and the European Union announced a new round of sanctions on July 29 that bar a number of Russian banks from U.S. and European capital markets, deny Russian energy companies sophisticated oil development technologies, and expand restrictions on Russian defense technology.
Even worse for Moscow, the new measures make it harder for Russian companies to raise medium- and long-term financing in Western markets, and extract oil from the Arctic and new deep water and shale reserves. They also hurt the Russian economy by increasing investor anxiety, which is likely to accelerate capital flight and cause foreign bankers to cut back on loans to Russia.
After announcing the latest sanctions, U.S. diplomats traveled to China, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea to urge their Asian partners to support efforts to tighten the economic vice on Russia.
More from CNAS
-
Sharper: America's National Security Workforce
Commentary
The greatest source of strength in American national security is the people who lead and serve within its institutions. The ongoing U.S. response to the global coronavirus out...
By Emma Moore, Chris Estep & Cole Stevens
-
China’s Economy and COVID-19
Commentary
On April 2, the CNAS Energy, Economics, and Security (EES) program held a Twitter conversation on the impact of COVID-19 on China’s economic performance, priorities, leverage,...
By Sam Dorshimer & Ashley Feng
-
Now’s Not the Time for Isolationism
Commentary
The coronavirus is a public health tragedy. If the United States isn’t careful, it could turn into a geopolitical one, too. How the U.S. manages—or mismanages—the coronavirus...
By Michèle Flournoy & Lisa Monaco
-
Forging an Alliance Innovation Base
Video
Daniel Kliman, Senior Fellow and Director of the Asia-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), discusses plans to forge an Alliance Innovatio...
By Daniel Kliman
