UK imposes new sanctions on Russian aluminum and copper producers

The UK’s new sanctions against Russia, announced late last week, target producers of aluminum, copper and steel products, S&P Global reports.

The British government has included two of the largest aluminum producers in Russia – Samara and Kamensk-Ural steel plants – on the sanctions list. However, these measures are not expected to have a significant impact on the market, as the UK has previously banned imports of certain metals that originate in or from Russia, including copper, aluminum, and nickel.

In 2022, the UK imported 12.6 thousand tons of Russian aluminum and approximately 41 thousand tons in 2019.

According to the British Foreign Office, the new blocking restrictions also apply to a number of representatives of the Russian iron and steel industry. Sanctions have been imposed on the co-owners of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company (UMMC, a copper and zinc producer), the United Metallurgical Company (OMC, steel pipes), and Mechel (which produces specialty steel and alloys).

In May last year, the UK imposed sanctions directly against OMC and Mechel’s flagship asset, Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant.

As GMK Center reported earlier, late last week, the United States announced that it had updated the Russian corporate segment of the SDN List (a list of individuals and entities subject to sanctions). Starting from February 23, sanctions restrictions were extended to Pipe Metallurgical Company, Russia’s largest producer of pipe products, and a number of its subsidiaries. The Samara Metallurgical Plant was also subject to restrictive measures.