The European Commission announced the discussion of sanctions on the import of Russian oil

The European Union is working on additional sanctions against Russia, “including against oil imports,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on April 5. According to her, the discussions take into account some of the ideas of European countries, such as a tax on Russian oil imports or "special payment channels" like escrow accounts.

Russia provides 25% of EU oil imports. In 2021, EU countries imported €48.5 billion worth of crude oil from Russia, and €22.4 billion worth of oil products, according to data from the European Commission.

Instead of a direct embargo on Russian oil, it would be worth considering the idea of ​​a “sanction tax” on oil from Russia, economist Ricardo Hausmann wrote in a column for Project Syndicate in late February. “In conditions of very high elasticity of demand [Europeans do not care where they buy oil - in Russia, the Middle East or elsewhere] and very low short-term elasticity of supply [due to the low cost of oil, Russia will not significantly reduce production even in the event of a strong drop prices] the tax on Russian oil will actually be paid by Russia itself,” wrote Hausmann. According to him, a global sanctions tax on Russian oil - at a rate of 90%, or $90 per barrel - would allow the world to collect about $300 billion a year annually.

Escrow accounts have been used since 2013 in the sanctions regime against Iran. At the time, the US effectively banned Iran from selling its oil to foreign countries through the threat of secondary sanctions against such buyers, but a compromise option was chosen: countries such as India or SOUTH KOREA deposited payments in their currencies due to Iran into a special account, funds from which could be decommissioned only for the import into Iran of permitted goods from these countries. Thus, goods barter was actually provided, and Iran did not get access to the currency.