Yellen Praises Price Cap but Little Mention of Tightening It

The US intends to crack down on Russia’s ability to skirt sanctions according to Treasury secretary Janet Yellen.

• “This year, a central piece of our strategy is to take further actions to disrupt Russia’s attempts to evade our sanctions.” she said.
• Yellen is in Japan meeting with finance ministers and central bank governors from G7 nations, where she intends to push allies to help tighten up sanctions.
• The European Union has also been discussing new mechanisms targeting third countries it believes aren’t doing enough to prevent Russia from acquiring banned goods – including oil and oil products.
• Yellen praised the US-led price cap on Russian oil that, combined with EU sanctions, has helped lower Russian revenue from oil exports without disrupting global supplies she said.
• Yellen didn’t speak about tightening enforcement of that program, despite reports that widespread breaches of the price cap likely took place in Asia in the first quarter.