I travel a lot and wrestle with the question of visiting countries, such as Hungary, that have repressive regimes, and spending my money there. Do I help the regime, or am I helping the citizen that needs the money? While I am aware my meager spending is not worth a discussion, that is not the case with major international corporations.
As of June 2021, countries or regions subject to U.S. sanctions (either unilaterally or in part) include the Balkans, Belarus, Burma, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Nicaragua, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine/Russia, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
Russia was once again added to this list on February 22, 2022.
The EU and the US have removed Russia’s ability to access the world economy in response to the invasion of Ukraine. This includes not only gas, which I have addressed before but clothing, diamonds, and other lucrative imports like seafood and vodka. The EU has added iron and steel to their list.
But what about companies that have an international presence and so are not only selling and buying from Russia but doing business in Russia?
Should they pull out completely, thus losing their investment in, or continue to operate to provide commodities that they say are so badly needed by the citizens of Russia?
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