The US government will announce tougher sanctions on the sale of semiconductor chips and other commodities to Russia for the purpose of targeting third-party Chinese sellers. These measures are part of a broad push by the Biden administration to address the efforts made by the Kremlin to evade Western sanctions.
The administration will broaden existing export restrictions by including US-branded commodities, not just those made in the US. It will affect certain Hong Kong entities involved in shipping products to Moscow.
US officials have been frustrated about the trade between China and Russia, allowing Moscow to ramp up its military production. Exports of machine tools and other equipment from China and other countries assist Russia in producing weapons it previously imported.
The US authorities should do their best to undermine the capabilities of Russia to obtain semiconductor chips and other equipment necessary for the production of missiles used to murder innocent Ukrainian civilians.
