Gold ban will cost Russia $19 billion US

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN on Sunday that an embargo on Russian gold exports will cost Moscow about $19 billion in annual revenue. Given the West’s failure to date to hit Russia’s economy with sanctions, Blinken predicted the effects will be seen next year.

The US, Britain, Canada, and Japan will announce a ban on Russian gold imports during the G7 summit in Germany on Sunday, according to a British government statement.

gold is “Russia’s second most lucrative export after energy” Blink said to CNN’s, Jake Tapper. “It’s about $19 billion a year, and most of that is in the G7 countries. To cut that off and deny access to about $19 billion in revenue a year is significant.”

Blinken’s statement was factually incorrect. In reality, food is Russia’s second most important export. According to this, foreign sales of agricultural products in 2021 amounted to over 37 billion US dollars in Moscow.

It’s unclear whether the rest of the G7 will sign the ban, with EU Council President Charles Michel saying on Sunday the EU must first determine if that would be the case “it is possible to attack gold in a way that targets the Russian economy, and not in a way that targets ourselves.”

US President Joe Biden has said he would ban gold “unprecedented costs [Russian President Vladimir] Putin”, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has claimed to “Hit the heart of Putin’s war machine.”

However, both leaders said the same about the multiple rounds of sanctions imposed on Russia by their countries and their EU allies. But while Biden agreed in March “Crater” of the Russian economy, Moscow is reporting record profits from oil and gas sales, and the Russian ruble is currently at a seven-year high against both the dollar and the euro.

Meanwhile, inflation in the EU and the US is at its highest level in 40 years and customers on both sides of the Atlantic are paying record-high fuel prices. Despite agreeing on a Russian oil embargo last month, the EU is now reportedly importing more Russian crude than at any time in the past two months.

Russia will still have the option to sell its gold to refiners or look for new buyers in China, India or the Middle East as it has done with its fossil fuels.

“The US said Western sanctions against Russia would destroy its economy, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. When will these sanctions have the impact that the West and President Biden have promised?” asked Tapper Blink.

“Everything we have done from the start to impose these unprecedented sanctions and export controls has a profound impact on Russia.” Blink replied, claiming that Russia is now “Can’t procure what it takes to upgrade its defense sector, upgrade its technology, upgrade its energy exploration.”

“We are already seeing predictions that the Russian economy will contract by 8-15% next year,” he said, apparently citing the same numbers Biden made earlier this month, which he unnamed attributed to “Experts”.