US To Impose ‘Strong New Sanctions’ Aimed At Russia

The United States is set to announce “strong new sanctions” as early as next week, with targets including parties in countries that support Russia’s military, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday.

“We will unveil strong new sanctions targeting those facilitating the Kremlin’s war machine, including intermediaries in third countries that are supplying Russia with critical inputs for its military,” she said in opening remarks to a press conference.

Her comments come as world financial leaders gather in Washington this week for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

They also come more than 2.5 years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which prompted a series of US actions taking aim at Russia’s revenues and industrial complex.

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On Tuesday, Yellen also appeared to take aim at former president Donald Trump’s economic approach, adding that the United States has “rejected isolationism that made America and the world worse off.”

The world’s biggest economy is two weeks away from its presidential election, which sees Republican candidate Trump running against Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris.

Yellen stressed that under the current Democratic administration, Washington has “pursued global economic leadership that supports economies around the world and brings significant benefits to the American people and the US economy.”

The economy has proven to be a critical issue for US voters according to polls.

Households have been feeling the pinch from higher costs of living after the pandemic, even as inflation has cooled from high levels seen in 2022 and the central bank started cutting interest rates — with borrowing costs set to ease in turn.

The race between Harris and Trump is neck-and-neck, with some polls suggesting voters favour the former president on economic issues.

Meanwhile, as the IMF and World Bank meetings take place, Yellen urged countries to do more for nations struggling with debt.

She said US President Joe Biden’s administration will continue pushing for improvements to a framework to aid countries in debt distress.

AFP