Export control. US Secret weapon against Russian military machine

Together with allies and partners, the United States also provided serious economic costs to undermine its military machine. Focus has translated the new text on the US export control in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The author of the article is the Deputy of the 19th Secretary of the US Department of Commerce Don Gravz. The central role in these efforts is played by unprecedented export control measures introduced by the US Ministry of Commerce.

One of the serious results of their impact on the Russian defense industry was the lack of technology. Export control prevents Russia from maintaining, repairing and replenishing its weapons. Export control is one of the most powerful national security tools that you probably have never heard of. These are trade restrictions that help to ensure our safety without allowing opponents to buy US products and use US innovations against the US, our allies and values.

Export control is a policy tool that the US government has developed for decades. But in 2022, export control became new. The US government has introduced more export control mechanisms at higher speed, accuracy and comprehensive coordination than ever before. These control measures play an important role in ensuring US national security and our partners around the world. The history of new export control measures begins in the Ministry of Trade under my leadership.

The Ministry of Commerce develops, implements and ensures the export control of "dual -use" products (goods with both commercial and military use), as well as some goods with only military use. Export control allows the US government to protect access to US -made goods and technologies, as well as some foreign products that include American components or are produced on the basis of US software, technology or equipment.

Here's how it works: after the implementation of export control rules, exporters should estimate whether their goods or agreements are subject to new restrictions and whether the US government is required. Such an assessment may contain check the technical characteristics of products and lists of customers. There are other details of this process, such as checking the procedures for compliance with new control measures, but the main idea is that.

On February 24, 2022, when Russian tanks moved to the capital of Ukraine, we, as members of the Baiden administration, realized that we need to support the brave Ukrainian people, impose significant economic costs and prevent the Kremlin from having to succeed in the battlefield in Ukraine. Export control was the most important part of these efforts.

With the help of export control, we have significantly strengthened the existing control measures on Russia, introducing a set of restrictions on a scale of all Russia and specific organizations. We have started to restrict commercial goods that can be used to support Russian weapons systems. These include semiconductors, lasers, sensors, parts for the marine and aerospace industry, such as mounts and bearings required for the defense industrial base of Russia.

We have applied these measures to Belarus in connection with its complicity in Russian aggression. We also resorted to our list of legal entities, adding seven the above mentioned Iranian organizations. These Iranian companies now apply additional trade restrictions, including with the help of our resolution on direct foreign production, which imposes control of foreign production products produced using certain American equipment.

This not only deprives them of the ability to buy American production, but also saves on the ability to receive many electronic components of foreign production, which can also be used in Iranian drones. It is very important that the US government has worked with international allies and partners, coordinating export control measures with measures of 37 other like-minded countries to strengthen their effectiveness.

In the history of export control of such a pace and depth of multilateral coordination of actions against Russia has not yet been. The United States, our allies and partners worked together for several months, releasing the normative acts of almost in unison. The Ministry of Trade has carried out large -scale explanatory work with the population to help him understand and, accordingly, to observe new regulations.

Where necessary, the Ministry of Trade has taken law enforcement measures to eliminate potential violations of control rules. We have our own law enforcement unit, which works closely with other US government branches, including the Ministry of Internal Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department, the Ministry of Finance, the US Embassy abroad, the Ministry of Defense and the Intelligence Community.

In addition, we cooperate and coordinate our actions with international partners. Due to export control, Russian imports of semiconductors and circuits - a vital component of Russian weapons - decreased by almost 70% compared to the same period of 2021. Russia does not produce its modern semiconductors, so it depends largely on external sources.

As a result, Russia has difficulty with the support, restoration and replacement of many of its weapons systems, including more than 6,000 units of military equipment such as tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry combat vehicles destroyed over the last year. In a sense, this influence is more difficult to notice - no one notices the dog that is silent, and weapons that cannot be repaired or replaced cannot be used. But just imagine what would be without US export control.

These actions complicate the work of the Russian military, as evidenced by the efforts they make to find microchips. Due to the acute shortage of spare parts, the Russian military is used to repair their military equipment from dishwashers, refrigerators and even electric milk suction pumps. Russia has turned to the ironing countries, such as North Korea and Iran to get artillery shells, missiles and drones made from components sold in the black market.

But they are not a decent replacement of parts made in the US and their partners. Changed Russia's behavior indicates that our control measures limit Russia's capabilities to replace military equipment. Recent reports emphasized that the Russian weapons found in Ukraine are present in the US and US partners. Of course, Russia had reserves of weapons until our export control measures were taken into force.

Analysts recognize that most components of American production or production of US partners found in Russian weapons in 2022 date back to 2014. They also point out that some components may be counterfeit and not produced in the US or their partners. These discussions miss the most important point - the lack of access to the world markets in Russia.

As one news publication rightly noted, "it is difficult to imagine that the whole economy is working on smuggling goods, especially when some of them are scarce around the world. " The same, obviously, can be said about the armed forces. The two largest Russian manufacturers of domestic microelectronics have temporarily stopped production due to the lack of critical foreign technologies on which Russia depends.

During the meeting of Russian technological entrepreneurs last year, a participant in the Russian Federal Research Institute, included in the list of legal entities, made a speech. She told Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was present at a meeting that her institute's equipment is used for measurements on a new land, which, according to news, was a place of testing of a Russian hypersonic missile. She added: "As a developer, I am very worried about our microelectronics.

" According to the Kremlin's meeting, Putin replied: "Honestly, I'm too. " The difficult situation in which the Russian supply chain was, was a direct result of large -scale American export control. The Ministry of Commerce will continue to take all necessary measures, including ensuring compliance with the restrictions already entered.

Last November, the US government was charged with seven people for their probable participation in the global smuggling network for the supply of secret technologies to the Russian government. In December, we announced a new resolution against a Russian company that lights up a war in Ukraine. Export control links the strengths of American technological innovations to national security imperatives.

They allow us to protect and protect ourselves, our allies and our democratic values, when our opponents try to use American products and technologies to undermine our national security. At a joint press conference in December, US President Joe Biden was solidarity with President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, voicing the global imperative of protecting democracy and sovereignty. "We all know what is put on the map," President Biden said.