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     they often come at a higher price, lower quality or both. Russia has also failed to a large extent in offsetting lost imports with domestically produced alternatives (BOFIT Policy Brief 5/2024).
Mirror statistics also suggest that measures to prevent circumvention of sanctions have had an impact. For example, mirror statistics show that imports to Russia of many sanctioned common high priority goods began to decline in recent months, i.e. in a period when sanctions monitoring had been stepped up and the organisations in third countries assisting Russia in circumventing sanctions targeted.
Saudi Arabia issued vague threats to G7 against seizing frozen Russian assets, Bloomberg reports. Saudi officials reportedly made "veiled threats" to Group of Seven (G7) nations hinting that the kingdom would sell some European debt holdings if Western allies seized about $300bn in frozen Russian assets, Bloomberg reported on July 9, citing its sources.
The White House is in no hurry to increase pressure on the Russian shadow fleet due to a possible negative impact on the cost of energy carriers on the eve of the elections. Officials at the US Treasury Department have proposed new restrictions designed to halt a fleet of aging oil tankers that help transport Russian oil in defiance of international sanctions. However, as the NYT notes, those efforts have been hampered by White House concerns about how it would affect energy prices ahead of the November election. Economic advisers at the White House are against the proposals, even though Treasury officials presented them with analytical data showing low risk of significant impact on the oil market. Treasury officials want the administration to target shadow fleet tankers with specific fines that could limit their sales or force them to be decommissioned. Ministry officials have conducted an economic analysis that indicates that the proposed penalties are unlikely to
   66 RUSSIA Country Report August 2024 www.intellinews.com
 





























































































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