U.S. Weighs Additional Sanctions on Russia-China Trade

WASHINGTON, May 28 (Reuters) – The United States and its partners are prepared to use sanctions and export controls to prevent China-Russia trade that threatens their security amid the ongoing Ukraine war, a White House official said on Tuesday.

White House Deputy National Security Adviser For International Economics Daleep Singh said the countries could take further action to increase the cost of Russia using a shadow fleet to evade the Group of Seven countries’ oil price cap.

They could also broaden current sanctions language regarding financial facilitation given Moscow’s moves to shift its economy to war footing, he said.

“Of course there are risks involved in mobilizing these assets, the policy is all about tradeoffs,” Singh told an event at the Brookings Institution. “I think sanctions are doing their job, relative to the objectives that we set.”

Singh said the G7 leaders’ summit next month was the best chance to shore up Ukraine’s financing gap by working out a plan to monetize around $300 billion in frozen Russian assets, a move he said was risky but necessary.

There was no consensus yet among the G7 countries on monetizing frozen Russian assets, which could provide Kiev with $50 billion, but Washington was urging that they move given the dire situation, Singh said.

Leaders from the G7 leading democracies are scheduled to gather in Italy from June 13 through June 15.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)

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