On Thursday, Commerce Undersecretary for Industry and Security Alan Esteves said export controls imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine were slowly reducing the supply of materials the Kremlin could use to rebuild his war machine.
The United States and a coalition of 37 other countries imposed unprecedented export controls on Russia in response to its unprovoked attack on Ukraine, and new measures are in the works.
Russia is working hard to circumvent these controls, Esteves said, but contraband goods cannot replace all that is needed to replenish stocks.
“The methods of evasion (of sanctions) will not reach the scale (of supplies) needed to rebuild the (Russian) army for a long time,” Esteves told Reuters.
Estevez, whose agency oversees US export restrictions, noted that imports of chips from Russia have fallen nearly 70% and larger items are even harder to smuggle.
Estevez reiterated that export controls and financial sanctions against Russia are not immediate, but over time.
“It’s not a guillotine,” he explained.
According to Estevez, the circumvention of sanctions on the supply of American technology to Russia and its redirection to other countries requires the utmost attention now.
Estevez said China generally abides by US restrictions on sending US-origin technology to Russia, and while some Chinese companies have shipped it to Russia, he has no evidence that the major Chinese chipmaker SMIC does.
“Over time, Putin’s war machine will be undermined, and as we continue to supply Ukraine with weapons, its military potential increases and Putin’s decreases,” he said.
