Switzerland, Norway Join U.S. Group Limiting Tech for Russia
Switzerland, Norway Join U.S. Group Limiting Tech for Russia
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. announced that Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein have joined the group of nations using similar controls to limit Russia’s access to technology, broadening its effort to undermine President Vladimir Putin’s ability to wage war.
The additions bring the list of countries that have aligned their export controls with the U.S. to 37, a group that already included the European Union, Japan, Canada and the U.K. among others, the Commerce Department said in a statement on Friday.
Commerce spent months prior to Russia’s invasion in late February coordinating potential export controls with global allies to make sure that Moscow wouldn’t simply substitute technology exports from another nation for those that were blocked by the U.S. The rules are being used to deny Russia access to products used in the defense, aerospace, and maritime sectors.
The countries, together with the U.S., are “standing up for democracy and in solidarity with the people of Ukraine,” said Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves. “The effectiveness of export controls is enhanced greatly when we are joined by committed international allies and partners. The more our coalition grows, the fewer places Putin and the Kremlin can turn for aid.”
The U.S. has implemented a number of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. Congress voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to strip Russia’s normal trade status with the U.S. and ban imports of its gas, oil and coal, adding to the economic squeeze by the U.S. and its allies to punish Putin’s government.
The designation of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein means that the countries are excluded from licensing requirements established in February by the BIS for foreign-made products that incorporate U.S. content or rely on U.S. technology and software. That’s because the countries’ own domestic laws now duplicate the effect of the U.S. own controls.
The U.S. is already seeing a significant impact from its export controls announced in the past six weeks, Graves told reporters on Thursday. Exports to Russia of items subject to new licensing requirements have fallen 99% by value compared with the same period in 2021.
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