The US called on Group of Seven members to contemplate on imposing sanctions on palladium and titanium imported from Russia.
The US officials proposed the idea to launch discussions about further sanctions against the Russian economy. It is known that palladium is a significant component for manufacturing computer chips and automobile catalytic converters, and titanium is used for production of almost everything from medical implants to airplanes.
However, one of the most serious challenges is that the EU relies on the metals heavily, so EU states have not shown any interest in fighting against imports of metals from Russia. Moreover, Italy, France, and Germany need the support of all the EU members for the imposition of such sanctions.
Although the US has put Russian titanium in the black list, the metals are crucial for production of airplanes, semiconductors, and catalytic converters. Governments of the EU are afraid of undermining the effectiveness of their own supply chains, that is why they still refrain from sanctioning metals from the Russian Federation.
The US still purchases palladium sold by Moscow. Being the Russian company, Norilsk Nickel accounts for more than 40% of world output. Supplies of both palladium and titanium, especially for the aviation industry, are significant for the EU. Being aware of this, Putin has asked the Russian government to contemplate on reducing titanium exports. However, notwithstanding the threats made by Putin, the EU and the US should take decisive measures to impose sanctions on Russian titanium and palladium.
