Too many US goods still getting to Russia, US official says

A disturbing number of Russian weapons are powered by electronic components from companies in the US and allied nations, a Biden administration official said Tuesday, as he appealed for firms to stem the flow of parts being used to wage war in Ukraine.

“The percentage of Russian battlefield weaponry with US or allied branded components is alarmingly and unacceptably high,” Daleep Singh, the deputy national security adviser for international economics, said Tuesday. “Put your creativity and resources to work, know your customers, know their customers, and know the end users. Ensure that American firms are not unwitting cogs in Russia’s arsenal of autocracy.”

The US and its allies have struggled to staunch the flow of parts to Russia. Export controls, which target the movement of goods rather than financial transactions, have been difficult to enforce because the producers lack the large internal compliance departments that have sprung up in banking over the last two decades of US sanctions policy.

“It took decades to build the financial sanctions architecture after 9/11,” Singh said in response to a question at a Brookings Institution event. “We’ve got to do that at warp speed for technology and goods companies.”

Singh, who was instrumental in implementing the initial round of economic measures against Russia in the early days of the 2022 invasion, said his comments were “an urgent call for corporate responsibility.” Singh returned to the White House in February after a stint as the chief economist for PGIM Fixed Income.