Russia-U.S. confrontation is extending to the economic and trade field as Washington is poised to hit Moscow new and powerful sanctions on Aug. 22. Russia views the move as a declaration of “economic war”.
The U.S. State Department said that Washington would impose new sanctions on Russia on or around Aug. 22 over the alleged poison attack on the ex-Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, in the British city of Salisbury in March.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the U.S. restrictions will possibly include a ban on foreign assistance to Russia and sale of military and dual-use items to the country, as well as renunciation of providing state loans and other financial aid.
U.S. State Department officials estimated that the sanctions might affect hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of exports, dealing a blow to about 70 percent of the Russian economy. It might also result in approximately 40 percent fall in the workforce.