Russia having trouble importing goods

 Business Insider:

With Russia showing signs of benefitting from a volatile and chaotic energy trade since its invasion of Ukraine, some have wondered if Western sanctions on the country have backfired — but measures to choke Russia's economy have been working in an unexpected way, top economist Paul Krugman says, and history suggests the West that will come out on top in the economic struggle.

"Russia is having no problem selling stuff, [but] it's having a lot of trouble buying stuff," Krugman wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times on Tuesday, noting that although Western nations have fixated on capping Russian exports, limitations on Russian imports have been wreaking havoc on Moscow's economy.

It's a departure from the intent of the original plan, which aimed to curb Russia's war revenue through energy bans and a possible a price cap on Russia energy, which Western leaders are looking to propose by year-end.

But that hasn't gone according to plan, and data shows Russia pulled in $24 billion in energy exports the first three months of war alone, and has been limiting supply to Western nations to drive up energy prices, tipping economies in Europe close to a recession. Since the start of Ukraine's invasion, Brent crude is up 8% to $101.96 as of 8:40 am ET and natural gas is up 70% to $7.81.

But import side of the equation tells a different story. Bans on selling to Russia have lowered Russia's trade volume with sanctioning countries by 60% and non-sanctioning countries by 40%, Krugman pointed.

That's led to a dramatic decrease in Russia's industrial production and relatedly, its GDP. According to the Peterson Economic Institute, production in the country has fallen as much as 50% for goods ranging from plastic to coal to household appliances.
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Both Russian manufacturers and consumers are feeling the effects of the sanctions. At the same time, western countries are having to deal with the reduced supply of Russian oil.