The Oil Price cap and Embargo on Russia Are Working Imperfectly

... and Defects Must Be Fixed

A family photo session at the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting in Niigata, Japan, May 12, 2023

Public Domain

Reuters/Issei Kato

The unprecedented and extensive sanctions to limit Russia’s oil export income, including the EU embargo and an oil price cap imposed by the Group of Seven (G7) countries in December 2022, have successfully reduced Russia’s export earnings and budget revenues.

In the wake of the sanctions, Russia’s current account surplus fell from $124 billion in January–May 2022 to $23 billion in the same time frame in 2023. The Russian Ministry of Finance also reported about a 50 percent year-on-year drop in government oil revenues in January–May 2023 and a widening budget deficit. Less clear is the impact of each different measure initiated by the West to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Evidence indicates, however, that the embargo has had more of an effect than the price cap, in part because the cap’s level is too high and enforcement is lacking.

This abstract references an article published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) on July 13, 2023 here, predicated on DGAP Policy Brief No. 10 (May 16, 2023).

Bibliographic data

Ribakova, Elina, Benjamin Hilgenstock, and Guntram Wolff. “The Oil Price cap and Embargo on Russia Are Working Imperfectly.” July 2023.

This article, based on the DGAP Policy Brief No. 10, May 16, 2023, was published by the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE) on July 13, 2023, here.

Program

Center for Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, and Technology