U.S. Corporations Are Trying to Prepare for Sanctions

The situation regarding Ukraine is not ideal, to say the least. President Joe Biden even threatened to impose devastating sanctions on Russia if Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine. Nevertheless, big corporations and business groups are pushing Biden’s administration and lawmakers to be cautious.

A trade group representing General Electric, Chevron, as well as other big corporations that do business in the Russian Federation is asking the White House to consider allowing companies to fulfill commitments and to weigh exempting products as the administration crafts any sanctions. Meanwhile, big energy companies are pushing Congress to limit their scope and time frame. 

They also reached out directly to U.S. lawmakers to press for a “cool down” and “wind-down” period, to avoid seizing their assets if they are not able to fulfill business agreements in the Russian Federation.

Corporations, sanctions, and politics 

The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. lobbying organization for gas and oil drillers. It discussed sanctions on Russia with congressional offices. 

Usually, export sanctions are phased in, giving companies time to wind down their existing business or ensure delivery arrivals. However, in this case, Biden’s administration might impose sanctions at any time. So, corporations are trying to protect their business interests.

In the past, the U.S. Treasury provided some mitigation measures on financial sanctions. 

Big corporations felt the aftermath of the U.S. sanctions on some of Russia’s more expensive drilling operations for years after Russia invaded Crimea in 2014.

Sanctions forced oil giant Exxon Mobil to abandon Russia’s Arctic and Exxon’s collaboration with Rosneft. Exxon Mobil signed a $3.2 deal with Russian state oil company Rosneft in 2011 to develop the region. New sanctions have the ability to create additional problems for big corporations.