US House Approves Resolution to Block US Sanctions Relief for Russian Companies

18:03 GMT, 17 January 2019

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The US House of Representatives on Thursday endorsed a resolution to block the Treasury Department from moving forward with its plans to ease sanctions on three Russian companies, EN+, Rusal and Eurosibenergo.

Sputnik

The House voted 362 to 53 in favour of the resolution which disapproves of a Trump administration decision to lift sanctions on three Russian companies after they agreed to sweeping restructuring to reduce the control of Russian businessman Oleg Deripaska.

Mnuchin: Treasury to Be Vigilant in Ensuring EN+, RUSAL Meet Commitments

10 January 2019, 21:46 GMT

The move comes just hours after the US Department of the Treasury reportedly extended the expiration date of certain general licenses related to Russian companies En+, Rusal, EuroSibEnergo from January 21 to January 28. The move followed the US Senate's failure to secure enough votes to bar the Treasury from lifting sanctions on the three companies.

The Treasury first imposed the sanctions on April 6, and the move against Rusal, the world's second largest producer of aluminium, swiftly created turmoil in global aluminium markets. As a result, the United States' European allies urged the Treasury to reverse its course on the sanctions.

Although the three firms have agreed to take steps to reduce Deripaska's holdings to under 50 percent, Democrats in the US Congress have sought to oppose the Treasury's rollback.

The Senate on Wednesday attempted to pass a resolution blocking the move, but fell short of the required number of votes.