US Treasury closes secondary market in Russian debt and stocks
A look back at the sanctions step taken on 7 June 2022, days after the EU approved its sixth package.
What did the United States add to the sanctions pressure on Russia on 7 June 2022? The US Department of the Treasury banned all trading of Russian debt and stocks, including on the secondary market.
The measure came during the international sanctions effort that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It extended the ban to trading on the secondary market, not only to new issuance.
The EU step days earlier
The Treasury move followed another sanctions decision by a few days. On 3 June 2022, the European Union formally approved its sixth package of sanctions against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine. As reported at the time, the package covered Russian oil, bank payment systems (including disconnection from SWIFT), television broadcasting, general exports, consulting services and individual listings of sanctioned persons.
The grain dispute in the background
The economic confrontation also had a food dimension. On 3 June 2022, the Kremlin reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Senegal's president, Macky Sall, discussed the ongoing food and grain crisis, which was described as caused by Russia's blockade of Ukrainian grain. They also discussed economic and humanitarian cooperation at their meeting in Sochi.
Taken together, the reports from those days show financial restrictions tightening in Washington and Brussels while the grain crisis stayed on the diplomatic agenda.
