MOSCOW : Trade turnover between the United States and Russia dropped 9.9 percent in 2014, a spokesman for the US Embassy in Russia told Sputnik.
In 2014, Washington and its allies imposed several rounds of economic sanctions on Russia over allegations that Moscow had meddled in Ukraine’s internal affairs, accusations the Kremlin has denied. Moscow responded to the restrictive measures with an embargo on food exports from countries that had sanctioned Russia.
“Total US-Russia trade was down 9.9% in 2014, while U.S. exports to Russia were down 3.3% in the same year,” Will Stevens, a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Moscow told Sputnik, citing data from 2014 US census Bureau statistics.
German weekly magazine Der Spiegel said earlier that trade between the United States and Russia spiked approximately 6 percent in 2014.
According to data provided by the US Census Bureau, US-Russia trade turnover dropped 29.4 percent in the first quarter of 2015 against the same period in 2014, while US exports to Russia dropped 31.8 percent over the same period.
“Sanctions hurt Russia, they hurt our EU partners, and they hurt US businesses,” Stevens added.
In the meantime, trade between the European Union and Russia shrank 12.6 percent in 2014 year-on-year, and EU exports to Russia dropped 13.5 percent over the same period, according to the European Commission.
In spite of the economic restrictions, many Western enterprises continue working within Russia.
Last week, US company Bell Helicopter signed a licensing agreement with Russian helicopter manufacturer Ural Works of Civil Aviation to assemble aircraft in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. The Russian helicopter manufacturer is part of Russia’s Rostec Corporation, itself on the list of companies sanctioned by the United States.
US multinational air and spacecraft manufacturer Boeing, a publicly-traded company, is also unaffected by the sanctions and continues its joint venture with Russian company Ural Boeing Manufacturing (UBM). The facility was toured in April by US Ambassador to Russia John F. Tefft, who pledged to facilitate the development of cooperation with VSMPO-Avisma, Russia’s major global titanium producer.
Mikhail Kalugin, the head of the Economic Section of the Russian Embassy to the United States told Sputnik last month that several US businesses are preparing new projects with Russia to be presented at St. Petersburg Economic Forum on June 18-20.
In the first three months of 2015, The United States has exported almost $2 million worth of goods to Russia, importing $4.5 million, according to US Census.
According to the European Commission, Russia is the European Union’s third trading partner. The bloc exports machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, medicines and agricultural products, and imports raw materials. Last year, the volume of European Union’s exports and imports stood at 182 billion euros ($200 billion) and 103 billion, respectively.
