Tit for tat: Russia to hit back hard at US sanctions
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MOSCOW - Russian lawmakers said on Friday they had drafted legislation in response to new U.S. sanctions that proposes banning imports of a raft of U.S. goods and services to Russia, and restricting economic ties.
The draft law is to be discussed in the lower house of parliament next week. It proposes restricting imports of U.S.-made software and farm goods, U.S. medicines that can be sourced elsewhere, and tobacco and alcohol.
Russian lawmakers also said they proposed a ban on cooperation with the United States on atomic power, rocket engines and aircraft making. The draft proposes barring U.S. firms from taking part in Russian privatization deals.
The proposed measures are in retaliation for the White House last week imposing the toughest set of sanctions on Russia since Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region, which dragged relations to their lowest point since the Cold War.
The draft legislation was presented to reporters by deputy speakers of the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, which is dominated by Kremlin loyalists.
Neither the Kremlin nor the Russian government has said if they back the measures, and it was not clear if it would become law in its current form.
