It appears that US president Donald Trump may finally have figured out how to hit Russia where it hurts. Last Friday, the US Treasury put seven Russian oligarchs, 12 businesses and 17 government officials on its Specially Designated Nationals list, which prohibits US citizens and companies from doing business with them.
The big difference this time round, as Marcus Ashworth points out on Bloomberg, is that the US government has also threatened secondary sanctions in other words, it has warned that it will also levy sanctions on anyone for "knowingly facilitating significant transactions for or on behalf of" those it has targeted in the latest round. As a result, says Ashworth, "a wide range of transactions involving Russia are now incredibly tricky for global economies and markets. The motto for all becomes if in doubt, don't touch'".
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