“It’s a troubling continuation/expansion of trade as a geopolitical tool,” warns one Washington-based consulting firm as Russia prepares to unleash retaliatory actions to US and European sanctions. As Bloomberg reports, Russia said yesterday it may ban imports of chicken from the U.S. and fruit from Europe and is investigating McDonald’s cheese for safety. In addition, a Russian lawmaker has drafted legislation that might result in U.S. accounting firms being barred from doing business in his country. All of this is odd given Jack “trust me” Lew’s reassurance that Russian sanctions would have no impact on the US economy. Russia’s response, US will feel ‘tangible losses’ from ‘destructive, myopic’ sanctions.
As Bloomberg reports, while Russia and the U.S. have long sparred over agricultural trade, the actions fueled speculation they could be retaliatory.
Russia’s food safety agency said it may ban imports of U.S. poultry and some European fruit due to contamination of the products, according Bloomberg BNA, citing Russian state media. The food safety agency, known as Rosselkhoznadzor, also said it will examine suppliers of McDonald’s cheese for their use of antibiotics.
Russia was the second-largest market, after Mexico, for U.S. chicken last year, according to the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council. The U.S. exported about $309 million worth of broiler chickens to Russia last year, according to the council.
Russia, which joined the World Trade Organization in 2012, is considering banning some European fruit that includes seeds and pits from the entire EU or from bloc’s individual member countries, said Alexei Alekseenko, an aide to Rosselkhoznadzor director Sergei Dankvert, BNA reported.
Fruit shipments from the EU have recently contained Oriental fruit moths, he said, according to the Russian news agency RIA. He proposed talks with EU suppliers over the issue.
Seems like that would impact the US and European economy…
“This is not a surprise,” Mike Cockrell, chief financial officer at Sanderson Farms Inc. (SAFM) of Laurel, Mississippi, said by phone. “It’s not unusual for Russia to find something wrong when they have a political reason to do so.”
Officials from McDonald’s, based in Oak Brook, Illinois, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Russia explained these are not anti-US sanctions…
“These are not sanctions against U.S. We don’t have a goal to harm U.S. citizens’ quality of life,” Fedorov said. “There are companies in Russia which have sensitive positions in terms of Russia’s sovereignty and economic security.”
Fedorov said consulting firms and audit firms will be the first to be targeted by the new bill. Next will be U.S. media, he said.
And Russia issued a statement that US will feel ‘tangible losses’ from ‘destructive, myopic’ sanctions.
We have repeatedly spoken about the illegitimacy and groundlessness of the US sanctions against Russia. Washington will gain nothing from such decisions except for further complication of Russian-American relations and the creation of an unfavorable atmosphere in international affairs, where the cooperation between our countries often plays a key role.
The U.S. administration, strained creating the appearance of “sequence” in its current behavior, in fact, is merely trying to avoid responsibility for the tragic developments in Ukraine. Not Russia, and Kiev regime and its overseas patrons guilty of a growing number of civilian casualties in the eastern regions. In his pompous manner prosecutorial White House, covering the bloody military operation of Kiev, which contrary to all international norms sunk to rocket attacks peaceful cities, continues to put forward baseless claims against us.
One gets the impression that the U.S. sanctions pressure, transformed now at sectoral level, has one goal – to get even with us for an independent and uncomfortable for Washington politics. Please also note the obvious elements of unscrupulous trade and economic competition in the U.S. actions.
The losses that Washington will sustain from such a destructive and myopic policy will be very tangible
US officials are not happy…
“Assuming that they take this action, it would be blatant protectionism,” Clayton Yeutter, a U.S. Trade Representative under President Ronald Reagan, said in a phone interview. “There is little or no legitimacy to their complaints.”
* * *
Putin warned of boomerangs… and sure enough here they come…
- *EU ENERGY SANCTIONS `IRRESPONSIBLE’ STEP, RUSSIA SAYS
- *EU ENERGY SANCTIONS TO CAUSE PRICE INCREASE IN EUROPE: RUSSIA
- *RUSSIA TO WEIGH `UNCONSTRUCTIVE’ EU ATTITUDE IN FUTURE TIES
- *EU BANKS WORKING IN RUSSIA MKT TO SUFFER FROM SANCTIONS: RUSSIA
And France is screwed…
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said Wednesday that Russia has the capability to build Mistral-class helicopter carriers on its own if France cancels the existing contract, RIA Novosti reported. “The French must prove they are serious partners and reliable contractors,” Rogozin said after a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and government ministers.
“If they fail to do so, we will build the [Mistral] ships on our own. We are finally capable to do it,” Rogozin said. On Monday, he expressed doubts that France would cancel the contract, which he said would be worse for France than for Russia.
And it seems Russia is not as isolated as President Obama would like everyone to think…
- VEB IN TALKS W/ CHINA, JAPAN, ARAB COUNTRIES ON FUNDING
via Zero Hedge http://ift.tt/1AyG1dZ Tyler Durden