Decisions to restrict Russian strategic raw material exports to be made only if sales guaranteed - minister

MOSCOW. Nov 18 (Interfax) - New decisions to restrict exports of strategic raw materials from Russia to unfriendly countries, similar to recent ban on supplying enriched uranium to the United States, will depend on the availability of alternative sales channels, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov said.

"Here it is essential that we don't do ourselves any harm. And in this sense, the decisions our country makes are balanced, calibrated, and imply that our producers, exporters, they either do not suffer at all, or [do not suffer] due to what they have to replace, what markets they have to replace - either they sell more within Russia, or they have additional export opportunities," he told journalists on Monday.

He said that if bans on raw material exports are imposed, they will be selective decisions for individual types of products.

The Russian government last week imposed provisional restrictions on exports of enriched uranium to the U.S., which applies to shipments of enriched uranium to the U.S. or under foreign trade contracts concluded with entities registered in U.S. jurisdiction, except for shipments under one-time licenses issued by the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control.

The move followed up on President Vladimir Putin's directive in response to the U.S. decision to restrict imports of Russian uranium products in 2024-2027 and fully ban them starting 2028, the Russian government press service said.

In September 2024, the president instructed the government to analyze options for restricting exports of strategic commodities such as uranium, nickel, titanium, and some others as long as this did not damage the Russian economy.