Between March and July alone, American businesses exported $2.04 billion worth of goods and services to Russia—that’s an extra $624 million compared to the same period back in 2021. This kind of spike really highlights how little Turkey cares about official sanctions. It’s clear their companies aren't about to walk away from Russian business for "moral reasons," unlike so many corporations based in liberal democracies.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, exports to Russia surged by 75 percent year-over-year last month; we're looking at a jump from $417 million in July 2021 to $730 million in July 2022.
How is this off-topic? Seriously, we are essentially in an informal war with Russia right now, and our first move is—get this—a reverse embargo. 🙏 Man, there’s absolutely nothing like that in history. I mean, will Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel be studied in history books 50 or 70 years from now the same way they study FDR? We'll just have to wait and see, but personally, I'm not holding my breath. ☕
The Gross Domestic Product per capita in the US was Last recorded AT 76329.00 US in 2020, when adjusted by purchasing power parity (PPP). The GDP per Capita, in the US, when adjusted by Purchasing Power Parity is equivalent to 84 percent of the world's average
The economy over there is honestly a wreck, and while sanctions have definitely slowed them down, you can't ignore the fact that Hamas has been taking quite a few "joy rides" across the region lately—moves that certainly weren't insignificant. Plus, the shortage of oil coming out of Iran is just a tiny fraction of why we're seeing today's oil prices. Besides, we have this meeting between Xi Jinping and our democratic buddy MBS coming up in just a few days; I am genuinely curious to see how those guys are going to swallow that bitter pill in the European Union.
Just imagine if Japan had slapped an oil embargo on itself right before their conflict with the US. History took a different turn entirely: the USA—the world's oil powerhouse—imposed the embargo on Japan, which ultimately drove them to launch that attack on Pearl Harbor. ☕
I honestly have no clue what the Russians are playing at, but those September TTF futures over in Rotterdam are looking pretty pricey right now.
ATH hit 220.11 today—at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if people started offering... let's just say "alternative services"... just to get their hands on an extra drop of LNG.🙏
Seriously, a Putin supporter praising Ukrainian partisans? I don't know what kind of delusions you guys are living in...
Meanwhile, the European trade deficit shrank a bit this month, sitting at a deficit of 24.6 billion. Let’s just assume where all that cash is actually flowing—straight into the pockets of democratic regimes. ☕
Nathan Evans78 As specified by George Robinson43: Page 2/3 of this thread...
Well, here we are... after six long months of grinding it out over in Ukraine... It seems people really do find a way to make a living after all...Well, you know... they're really just barely hanging on by a thread, mostly because they're relying so heavily on those exports to stay afloat... Part... Energy levels... honestly, I think anyone interested really just needs to scroll back through this entire thread from the very beginning. You’d be shocked at some of the absolute amateurs hanging around here, it’s truly something else... 🤣
That’s coming from the guy who heads over to Canada just to chase a bigger paycheck...
You know, you could easily make enough money back home in the States just to put food on the table and get by... but instead, you made the call to move somewhere where the paycheck actually means something!
It seems like just making a living isn't enough for you, is it? But apparently, the average person living in Russia is perfectly fine with that status quo... and will be for the next several decades while they sit under those sanctions...
My friend, let me tell you, Russia and those parts of the world have been economically lagging behind for centuries. It’s like when a waiter tries to charge you five times the price of a meal; it’s just a certain mindset. Honestly, it feels almost epigenetic—it might take dozens of generations of re-education before they align with what we consider "Western" moral principles.
To be honest, Ukrainian partisans and special forces have done more damage to Russia in a few months than those silly sanctions have managed in half a year.
George Robinson43 said:Sanctions aren't meant to starve a nation to death. Think of it like this: would people survive on nothing but checks if nobody was buying their essential exports?
Well, look, after six months of shuffling around in Ukraine, they’re actually surviving on something—specifically, they're staying afloat by exporting SOME of their energy resources. Honestly, someone really needs to scroll back through the beginning of this thread; there are some truly baffling takes in here. 🤣
analogbear5 said:We've been reading all along about how Russia is pulling in record revenue from oil sales—sanctions be damned—all thanks to those sky-high prices.
So, how does that square with a 4% drop in the second quarter? How is that even possible? (And no, that’s not a rhetorical question).
Obviously, we aren't just talking about some local gas station here. So, how is that possible?
I honestly can't decide which path will actually move the needle first: perfecting fusion reactors or finally mastering the production and storage of hydrogen. 🤣
Chloe Nguyen21 said:Things went pretty well for Putin when he first took over, but then, maybe because of old age, the guy started thinking he was some kind of king. That’s really the core issue right there. Capital and business move to where things are stable. Russia isn't going to be that place for at least the next 50 years, or so I figure. I mean, what kind of idiot would invest there? It feels like we're looking at a Venezuelan situation... a country loaded with energy resources while most people struggle through poverty. The West will find a way to replace Russian energy pretty easily. It'll probably be sorted out by next year. Meanwhile, it'll take Russia years to even build out a gas network toward Asia, where they'll end up selling gas at discounted rates, just like how they're doing with oil now. You didn't really answer the question of who in the West is going to go hungry without Russia... let me help you out... nobody. Specifically here in the States, in my field (mechanical engineering), this year has been a record-breaker. My kids say the same thing about their jobs in IT and Pharmacy; everyone in the US and the rest of the European Union is working themselves to the bone. The Russian economy is basically a dwarf that nobody is going to miss. I guess the Germans will complain for another six months or so, and then that'll be that.
It’s such a shame this garbage service doesn't have a "remind me in..." feature. ☕
gentlestag15 said:It’s honestly no shocker that they're short about 1.7 million workers. Over half of all companies in Germany can't find enough staff to fill their roles. I guess a massive wave of Ukrainians and even some Russians will show up soon to fix everything, so no need to worry.
Oh, come on, don't feed me this stuff. Ever since I was born, Germany has been short by at least a few million workers. Has it occurred to you that in this information age, anyone who isn't absolutely desperate isn't going to jump at a minimum wage job involving 240 hours of manual labor a month? You actually end up with more cash in your pocket staying on social security—especially if you have kids to support—than you would washing dishes along the Autobahn. Bad jobs have always existed; honestly, we had them right here in America back in the early 2010s too. I'm not sitting here mourning the fate of Germany; I'm pointing out that thanks to the law of unintended consequences, we're also stuck in a tight spot if the engine of the European Union industry stops generating high value-added growth. ☕
crimsoncyclist71 said:At the end of the day, freezing is a smaller evil than funding an aggressor.
So, what happened back in 2008 when Russia invaded Georgia? Did we suddenly lose our ability to care then? I’m just curious to see if we’re actually being consistent with this moral grandstanding we do all over social media. ☕
Two Commission officials mentioned that, according to the latest estimates coming out of Brussels, gas savings could top 30 billion cubic meters—even if every single member state decides to lean on those political exemptions.
But over what timeframe?
"Way more, honestly, much more," one Commission official insisted. "But I can't go into specifics."
"It's tough to pin down because we haven't actually seen any hard math yet," an EU diplomat noted.
"The Commission is banking on a 30 billion cubic meter reduction, but frankly, nobody knows for sure and nobody has actually crunched the numbers," another EU diplomat added.
Paul Kern12 said:To be honest, the US doesn't really care about what happens to Europe; if anything, it serves their interests to keep profiting from their partner—or should I say, their colony (the EU). They aren't going to risk a direct military conflict, as that would ultimately jeopardize themselves as well. Looking at historical precedent, they haven't even dared to move against significantly more powerful states—like Iran or North Korea—so I doubt they would ever take on Russia. Europe really ought to stand up for its own interests, but to actually do that, they would first need to deal with the incompetent—or perhaps even traitorous—cliques in Brussels that continue to make such irrational decisions.
Maybe the average American doesn't have much to lose here, but Biden and his entire political machine certainly do—they'll suck the life out of the upcoming elections just to stay afloat. The longer they drag their feet on solving these issues, the more massive the tectonic shifts become. Just look back at Trump and how he handled COVID; if he had managed to resolve that situation within a reasonable timeframe, he almost certainly would have cruised through the election. ☕
Good grief, they've sent more surplus American weaponry to Ukraine than those useless sanctions have actually accomplished. 🙏
The commission is basically telling everyone not to hold their breath waiting for Russia to flip the gas switch back on.
To me, this just reinforces the idea that economic sanctions like these don't really touch countries that have completely lost their sense of reason. I mean, their GDP has already cratered by 4.3% year-over-year, and honestly, they seem perfectly willing to let it slide even further because they’ve essentially reached a point of total mental burnout. If you ask me, at this stage, nothing short of military intervention or some sort of orchestrated regime change is going to move the needle in the medium term—and hey, the US certainly has plenty of experience with those kinds of maneuvers.☕
And what exactly is Dow Chemical supposed to be exporting if they don't get the North Sea pipeline online next month? You all seem to think the Euro is just dropping for the fun of it, or like some kind of joke... ☕