On the effectiveness of the sanctions on Russia

Abstract

There has been an unprecedented increase in the number of sanctions imposed in world over the past 70 years, raising questions over their effectiveness. This column uses the fourth release of the Global Sanctions Database to quantify the impact of the 2022 sanctions on Russia on the country’s trade. The authors find that the sanctions have decreased Russia’s trade with sanctioning states but with very heterogeneous effects, especially across the EU. More importantly, however, they find evidence of significant trade liberalisation between Russia and third countries that have mitigated and may even eliminate the negative primary trade effects of the sanctions