Kommersant learned about the impact of US and British sanctions on a third of Rusal’s exports

US and UK sanctions banning the import of Russian aluminum could affect almost a third of Rusal's exports, or 1.5 million tons, Kommersant writes, citing a source.

The company believes that the ban could affect the Export of semi-finished products (about a quarter of the aluminum produced by Rusal is used for their production) and value-added products.

“Aggressive US attempts to force third countries, such as Turkey and China , to sever ties with Russia further complicate the situation. This poses a direct threat to our supply chain, especially given the interconnected nature of global production networks,” a source told the newspaper. According to him, in such a situation the company will have to send products to warehouses, which are almost full.

The source also admitted that problems in sales would be caused by self-sanctions on the part of Rusal’s clients and the reluctance of traders and financial institutions to work with Russian metal in the LME (London Metal Exchange) system.

Kommersant’s interlocutor noted that the company is going to discuss with the government measures to support the industry, in particular, government purchases of up to half of export volumes, reduction of production to a quarter of the current volume, and removal of aluminum from the export duty.

On April 12, the United States announced that IT was introducing a ban on the import of Russian-made aluminum, copper and nickel. The UK imposed a ban on these metals, as well as zinc, lead, tin, tungsten and others, last December.

Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov noted that these sanctions , like all others, are illegal and Moscow considers them a double-edged weapon that will harm the interests of those who impose restrictions.

Officially, Rusal stated that the new US and UK sanctions will not affect its ability to make deliveries, as they do not affect the company’s global logistics solutions, access to the banking system and production system.

Amid the introduction of sanctions, aluminum prices on the world market have risen sharply. The metal rose 9.4% on April 15, the biggest one-day gain since at least 1987, the Financial Times reported.

The newspaper notes, citing data from the financial conglomerate Citigroup, that Russia is a key producer of all three metals: for example, it accounts for 6% of the world's aluminum, 4% of copper and 11% of nickel.