Russia Is Defeating Sanctions

Reuters

Judy Twigg, National Interest: Russia Is Winning the Sanctions Game

These sanctions were supposed to punish Moscow's elite, but instead they've spurred economic development and patriotism.

The current conversation about Russia sanctions centers around targeting and scope. Are we punishing the people whose behavior we most want to change? Is there pain, well inflicted, on those individuals responsible for creating chaos in Ukraine and Crimea, for reckless attacks on Sergei Skripal and others, and for wanton interference in Western elections? Can we hurt Russian elites in a way that Putin will notice? Have we done enough?

In at least one sector, though, the sanctions are a textbook case of unintended consequences: they’ve put Russian farmers in the best shape they’ve ever been. Countersanctions aimed at imported Western food products—put into effect just days after the initial sanctions in the summer of 2014—initially sent Russian consumers into a tailspin, hungry from a lack of immediate alternatives to tasty European cheeses and processed foods. But palates adjusted quickly, and the import substitution effects boosted Russia, by 2016, to the position of top wheat exporter in the world. As the United States hemorrhages global agro-market share courtesy of Trump-era tariffs and trade wars, Russia is actively and aggressively filling the gap.

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WNU Editor: I concur with the above analysis. I go back to Russia 2 or 3 times a year, and I do not see an economy in decline or economic turmoil. Everyone is working. Starting a small private enterprise is now the cultural norm. There are building cranes everywhere in Moscow. And food is readily available and cheap. I should also add that the meats and poultry are better quality (they do not use hormones and other chemicals in their feed). I do know that sanctions will be lifted one day, but the Kremlin is going to protect critical industries .... especially the agribusiness. And I do not see the mentality of buying Russian changing anytime soon.

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