Washington has slapped sanctions on another 81 Russian companies as a result of Moscow’s role in the Ukraine conflict.
Among those facing bans are chipmakers, shipyards, gas firms and a bridge builder, DW reported.
After the US Department of the Treasury had updated its list of Russian companies targeted by the sanctions last week, the Department of Commerce followed suit on Wednesday, imposing bans on dozens of Russia-based entities. The Bureau of Industry and Security added a total of 81 companies new to its Entity List that had been introduced in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine.
US authorities noted the banned companies were acting against “the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States”.
“BIS is taking this action to ensure the efficacy of existing sanctions on the Russian Federation for violating international law and fueling the conflict in eastern Ukraine,” the bureau said in the Federal Register, an official daily journal of the US administration.
Among the companies added to the list are 51 subsidiaries of Russian gas giant Gazprom, including its main exploration assets. Gazprom itself was already hit with sanctions in September 2014.
The measures mean that US suppliers will have to get a license from BIS for equipment to be exported, re-exported or transferred in Russia, “if it might be used for exploration for, or production of oil and gas in Russian deepwater or Actic offshore locations or shale formations in Russia,” according to a BIS publication.
A license is also required if an exporter cannot rule out that its goods might be used in such projects.
