ArmInfo. The issue of returning the products of the Yerevan plant to the US market was again in doubt. The head of the Democrats in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, prepared a resolution against the decision of the US Ministry of Finance to lift sanctions from En +, RusAl and Eurosibenergo companies controlled by Russian entrepreneur Oleg Deripaska, the Daily Beast reports.
The US Treasury Department announced in December 2018 that it intends to exclude En +, RusAl and Eurosibenergo from the sanctions list, since Deripaska will reduce its share in these companies, RIA Novosti reports. At the same time, Deripaska himself will remain on the list, and the assets in which Deripaska owns 50% or more will remain frozen."I'm doing this not because I decided that Congress should take action against this agreement (on the lifting of sanctions - ed.), So far I have not come to such a decision, but to preserve the procedural possibilities for introducing such a resolution if will need ", - said Schumer and added that the congressmen will continue to consider the grounds for the decision of the administration of Donald Trump to lift the sanctions from companies controlled by Deripaska.
If Schumer decides to introduce this resolution, then a simple majority in both chambers of congress will be required for the document to be put on the table for the president. "Trump will most likely reject the resolution, so the congressmen will have to collect enough votes to circumvent the presidential veto," the newspaper writes. In turn, Congressman Steny Hoyer said the publication that "the Democrats will consider all possible options on this important issue." The United States in April 2018 introduced new sanctions against Russia. In particular, the US Treasury listed Deripaska and the En + Group, the GAZ Group, Basic Element and RusAl to the black list (SDN list).
Listing means freezing assets in the US and banning any business with these companies for US citizens. The US Treasury initially gave a month for Americans to sell the shares and debt instruments of these companies and two months to complete existing contracts and stop working with companies. The restrictions were to come into force on May 7 and June 5, 2018, respectively. Then these terms were repeatedly extended, the last time until January 21.Recall that the Armenal plant in Yerevan, part of the UC Rusal structure, previously had the opportunity to return to the US market.
The US Treasury Department notified Congress of its intention to end the sanctions against three companies: En +, UC Rusal and Eurosibenergo.According to ArmInfo analysts, the decision will allow the UC Rusal subsidiary - Yerevan Armenal Plant - to resume deliveries of foil to the United States, suspended since mid-year due to sanctions.Armenal is the largest exporter of finished products not only in the USA, but also in the countries of the European Union. According to the RA Statistics Service, in Armenia the release of aluminum foil in January-November 2018. in comparison with the same period of the previous year, it decreased by 12% - to 26,714 tons. According to statistics, in November alone, the production of aluminum foil decreased by 9.7% to 2004 tons.