EU contemplates banning Russian aluminium in the 13th sanctions package; industry warns economic distress
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Update time : 2024-01-30 17:06:05
The European Union is contemplating restricting Russian aluminium as part of the 13th sanctions package. In a way to ban Russian aluminium imports, sanctions will be automatically applied against the energy sector given that the latter is a crucial input for the aluminium smelting process.
A diplomat told Politico that sanctioning aluminium indirectly targets Russian energy, which makes up 40 per cent of the expenses in aluminium smelting.
Discussions over the new prohibitions have been underway since the European Union decided to release a new sanctions package for the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24. A senior EU diplomat has stated that for the new sanctions package, the attention has shifted to less obvious areas like aluminium.
In the 12th sanctions package declared in December 2023, the European Union banned aluminium wires, foils, and extruded products. The new package may expand to aluminium semi-finished products and some or all primary aluminium products.
