- Officials say they are considering all options when it comes to Ukraine
- That includes a total ban on Russian aluminium, according to Bloomberg
- It comes after Russia rained down missiles on Ukrainian cities this week
- Meanwhile the Russian economy is doing better than expected amid sanctions
The Biden administration is reportedly considering a total ban on Russian aluminum after Russia stepped up its assault on Ukraine with a storm of missiles directed at civilian targets this week.
The White House is weighing an outright ban, raising tariffs to levels so punishing they would impose an effective ban, or sanctioning United Co Rusal International PJSC, the company that produces Russia’s metal, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the decision-making.
Russia is the world’s second biggest producer of the metal.
And Russian aluminum accounts for about ten percent of all U.S. imports of the metal, which is used in everything from iPhones to automobiles and fighter jets.
The European Union and the U.S. have largely held off sanctioning industrial metals, and Reuters reported last month that the two markets had increased purchases of Russian aluminum by as much as 70 percent.
At the same time, the Russian economy has continued to perform better than expected despite repeated waves of economic sanctions.