AmCham sees rapid US ban on Russia sovereign debt unlikely

MOSCOW, Aug 22 (PRIME) -- The U.S. Congress will likely discuss a bill to ban trading in Russian debt law for a long time and introduce many changes to it, the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham) President Alexis Rodzianko told PRIME on Wednesday.

Earlier in August, a group of U.S. senators introduced a bill offering sanctions against sovereign debt, Russian state banks, and politicians as well as caps on energy investment and uranium imports.

“Essentially, this draconic draft law encompasses additional sanctions, possible restrictions on conducting business in Russia and with the Russian government and Russian state companies. It is unlikely to be approved in the foreseeable future…Lawyers say that this bill is raw, its text contains mistakes and inconsistencies, which means that the bill will go through many changes before it is discussed seriously,” Rodzianko said.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was against the bill, as these restrictions will hurt investors. “The amount of possible investors for issuers is shrinking, and possible investment for investors also narrows. There may even happen an absurd situation when one would have to sell, while all sales channels are blocked,” he said.

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