Russian manufacturers of ammunition for civilian weapons may lose their largest export market, which is the United States of America, due to additional sanctions that Washington imposed on on Moscow on September 7, RBC reports.
The new sanctions, inter alia, restrict the "permanent import" of small arms and ammunition to the United States from Russia. From now on, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will issue mandatory rejections to US companies willing to purchase such products from Russia.
It is estimated that Russia remains the main supplier of cartridges to the United States. Russian manufacturers annually ship products worth a total of $100 million to the United States every year. This volume of shipment accounts for more than 21 percent of the total imports of gun cartridges. The closest competitor — South Korea — can boast of a number that is twice as small.
In 2020, US imported more than 765 million cartridges from Russia.
On July 30, it was reported that imports of Russian oil and oil products to the United States has grown sharply over the five months of this year against the backdrop of rising prices.
According to the US Census Bureau, imports of fertilizers to the United States has increased by 35 percent to $0.5 billion, while imports of iron and steel from Russia has increased by a quarter to $0.7 billion.
In general, imports of Russian goods to the United States over five months of 2021 have increased 1.5 times compared to the same period a year ago, having reached nearly $11.5 billion, the department also said.
The US has increased purchases of other commodities from Russia too, despite the sanctions. It goes about imports of mineral fuels, precious and semi-precious metals and stones.