(Reuters) – The Biden Administration on Wednesday added 40 companies and research institutions to a trade restriction list over their alleged support of the Russian military, as Washington seeks to keep up pressure on Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
The entities — including 13 Russian and 11 Chinese ones, were targeted by the Commerce Department for a host of reasons, including support for Russia’s chemical and biological weapons programs, drone production and U.S. aircraft components.
The Commerce Department, which regulates exports, also put new restrictions on the export of 9 chemical precursors used to produce riot control agents and chemical weapons used on the battlefield against Ukraine.
“American products do not belong in the hands of those who prop up Russia’s defense industrial base,” said Alan Estevez, who oversees export policy at the Commerce Department. “We will continue to thwart Russian procurement networks operating in (China) and wherever else we see them,” he added.
The other targeted entities are located in India, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Türkiye, Estonia, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, according to the release.
The move by the Commerce department will be coupled with similar actions by the Departments of State and Treasury to prevent the use of American goods by Russia’s defense industrial base, the Commerce Department said.
The Biden administration has aggressively used export controls to hammer Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, but extensive reporting has detailed the difficulties it faces keeping Western technology out of Russian hands.
(Reporting by David Shepardson and Alexandra Alper; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Franklin Paul)
