On June 11, the US Treasury Department expanded sanctions lists against Russian companies and citizens.
Reportedly, new restrictive measures will affect three citizens of the Russian Federation, three Russian companies and two related structures abroad.
The report on the website of the US Ministry of Finance said that the imposition of new sanctions was the involvement of individuals and companies in cyber attacks. They were introduced on the basis of the adopted law “On Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions” (CAATSA).
This time, Oleg Chirikov, Vladimir Kagansky and Alexander Tribun fell under sanctions. All of them are associated with the listed company “Divetnoservis”. Restrictive measures have been introduced in relation to Digital Security and FSUE NII Kvant. All of them are registered in St. Petersburg and are associated with the Federal Security Service, according to the US Treasury.
“The enterprises that entered the sanctions list today contributed to improving the cyber and underwater capabilities of Russia through their work with the FSB and therefore jeopardize the security of the United States and our allies,” US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin quotes the document.
The official also noted that the purpose of the sanctions is the ability of the Russian authorities to monitor data that passes through submarine communication cables and “carries the bulk of the world’s telecommunications information.”
US Department of Agriculture cuts forecast for Russian wheat export
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has lowered its forecast for wheat harvest in Russia and the export of this crop from the country in the 2018-2019 agricultural year (from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019), according to a ministry review.
The wheat crop in Russia next season will be 68.5 million tons, while the May estimate was 72 million tons. Carrying stocks at the end of June next year will decrease to 5.222 million tons from 10.722 million at the end of the current agricultural year.
Wheat exports from Russia may reach 35 million tons (forecast in May – 36.5 million tons), the estimate was reduced as a result of changes in the forecast for the crop. At the same time, the forecast for grain supplies abroad in the current season was increased to 40.5 million tons from 39.5 million in the May survey.
In turn, the United States in 2018-2019 agricultural year can, according to the ministry, export 26 million tons of grain (the forecast is improved from 25 million tons), the EU countries – 29 million tons (the estimate has not changed). Global wheat production in the next season may reach 744.686 million tons (May estimate – 747.756 million).
According to the Federal State Statistics Service, the wheat crop in Russia in 2017 amounted to 85.9 million tons, grain in general – 135.4 million tons. Grain export from Russia last season amounted to 35.474 million tons, including 27.075 million tons of wheat.
The Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation expects that in the current agricultural year, grain exports from Russia will be about 53 million tons, wheat deliveries – 40 million tons, Prime said. According to the results of the current season, Russia, according to the forecast of the International Grain Council, will take first place in the world in wheat export and second in grain supplies in general.
The United States may introduce duties on goods from China on Friday
US Presidential Administration Donald Trump is preparing to introduce new duties on Chinese goods worth tens of billions of dollars. This move, which could be taken as early as Friday, is likely to provoke retaliation from Beijing, writes The Wall Street Journal.
Senior officials from the White House, the Department of Commerce and the Treasury, as well as the U.S. Trade Representation held a meeting on this issue before Trump went to the G7 summit in Canada on Friday. According to WSJ sources, officials agreed that the US should impose duties.
According to officials, Trump has not given his final approval and may change his mind about the strong pressure on China, especially because the US wants Beijing to contribute to efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
According to Vesti.Ekonomika, on June 12, a historic meeting between the US President and the DPRK leader took place in Singapore. Trump promised after the summit that the denuclearization of North Korea would begin “very soon.”
An official in the Trump administration told WSJ that the president and his advisers plan on Thursday to finalize plans to impose duties on Chinese products. Following Trump’s initial tariff warnings, Beijing did nothing to address U.S. President’s concerns about China’s trading practices, the source said.
The Trump administration in April planned to introduce duties in the amount of $ 50 billion, but the amount could change as the list was refined. Some products were excluded from the list, while others were added to it after a period of public comment.
The White House chose Friday as the deadline for submitting a list of goods that will be affected by the new duties.
