Reality check on why sanctions on Russia will also have a detrimental impact on the West:
telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/…
(behind paywall, so summarised below)...
telegraph.co.uk/business/2022/…
(behind paywall, so summarised below)...
1) Russia has its own digital payment system, Mir, which will mitigate the economic impact of removal from SWIFT.
2) Note that Russia would regard SWIFT removal as equivalent to a declaration of war in the event it was implemented: nytimes.com/2022/01/31/us/…
2) Note that Russia would regard SWIFT removal as equivalent to a declaration of war in the event it was implemented: nytimes.com/2022/01/31/us/…
3) Russia supplies 43% of the world's Palladium, which is essential for the electronics industry.
4) It controls 90% of the world's neon, which is required for microchip production (lasers that etch chips use neon).
4) It controls 90% of the world's neon, which is required for microchip production (lasers that etch chips use neon).
5) 35% of the world's titanium is controlled by Sergey Chezemov, a Putin ally. US aircraft manufacturers rely on his Russian-sourced titanium, among others.
6) The US apparently has no titanium left in its National Defense Stockpile (unsourced in original article).
7) Western sanctions against Rusal, imposed after the Crimea invasion in 2014, caused global aluminium prices to rocket and were eventually rescinded.
The Russians will not have forgotten this.
The Russians will not have forgotten this.
8) China has made it illegal for their companies to comply with US sanctions requirements, so Chinese firms are likely to ignore them anyway.
9) Whatever Europe does in the future, in the present it is still heavily dependent on Russian gas and oil.
10) TL;DR: Aggressive sanctions on Russia will also have a significant impact on Western economies and technology. They are not cost-free.
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