More sanctions! Russian Defense Ministry, aviation & space companies on US Christmas list of ‘prohibited’ export destinations

The US Department of Commerce has published a list of 103 Russian and Chinese entities, including the Russian Defense Ministry, that will be affected by the ban on exporting American technology to military end-users.

The list includes the developers of Soyuz space rockets which the US has been reliant on to access to International Space Station. It was published on Monday by the Bureau of Industry and Security amends the Export Administration Regulations, and represents just the first tranche of entries that will be expanded going forward, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said.

Commerce is “leveraging its partnerships with US and global companies to combat efforts by China and Russia to divert US technology for their destabilizing military programs,” Ross said in a statement.

There are 58 Chinese and 45 Russian entities on the list. Among the Russian designations is “Ministry of Defence RF,” as in the defense ministry in Moscow, and the Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR.

The blacklist includes familiar names from the field of air, space and weapons manufacturing: Tupolev, the civil and military divisions of Sukhoi, MiG (aka Russian Aircraft Corporation), Rosoboronexport and Rostec. Also blacklisted is the Progress Rocket Space Center, a Roscosmos subsidiary that developed Soyuz rockets for space exploration. 

President Vladimir Putin’s special flight unit was also placed on the list. 

As Russia’s military industry has endeavored to become self-sufficient again in the wake of US sanctions beginning in 2014, it is unclear what impact the export ban will have on it. Meanwhile, the inclusion of China’s aerospace sector on Monday’s blacklist is another step in escalating the Trump administration’s efforts to cut US economic ties with China. 

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