Joe Biden’s administration pressed to reimpose sanctions on Rusal

The administration of Joe Biden, the President of the United States of America is advocated by the top members of the ‘House of Representatives Financial Services Committee’ towards reimposement of economic sanctions on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska's United Company Rusal, the Russian aluminium giant.  

While speaking at an American Bankers Association (ABA) summit in Washington, committee chairwoman Maxine Waters, a Democrat, and Republican ranking member Patrick McHenry emerged with independent support to reimpose economic sanctions on Rusal, as in December 2021, it secured waivers from Donald Trump's administration.

Maxine Waters said, “I had always opposed the decision by then-treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin to waive economic sanctions against Rusal and that she was further disturbed by Rusal's takeover of bauxite mining assets in Jamaica.”

However, an industry expert close to Rusal cautioned that reimposing sanctions on the metal giant would strikingly unsettle the supply of aluminium and seed new cost-push pressure in the United States.

The expert stated, “If the US wants aluminium prices to follow those of nickel and platinum and destroy the US economy, then I guess this would be the right thing to do.”

Patrick McHenry said, “The Biden administration should also prepare secondary sanctions against all those trading Russian assets, especially state-owned or state-controlled Chinese companies.”