UK Sanctions Target Russia Precious Metals 

May 27, 2022 – The United Kingdom announced a 35% tariff on all platinum and palladium imports from Russia and Belarus, targeting over £1.7 billion of trade. 

This new round of sanctions is intended to put increased pressure on Russia and further weaken the military war machine. These new sanctions would increase tariffs on previous metal imports from Russia and Belarus. Russia is one of the largest suppliers of both precious metals, supplying around 40% of the world’s palladium and 15% of all platinum. The United Kingdom imported £1.2 billion ($1.47 billion USD) worth of platinum and palladium from Russia last year alone. 

In addition, the UK Department for International Trade will be increasing tariffs on a wider range of products from Russia by 35%. A ban on exporting goods to Russia was also announced, stopping the flow of plastics, rubber, chemicals and machinery to Russia, an industry worth £250 million. 

In a statement from Britain’s Finance Minister, Rishi Sunak, this newest round of sanctions would impact more than 4 billion pounds of goods and do “significant damage to Putin’s war effort.”