Policy Insights

Policy Insight 116: How to implement an EU embargo on Russian oil

• edited by Anette Hosoi Simon Johnson
20 Apr 2022

While sanctions have intensified against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, purchases of Russian oil by many countries continue unabated, essentially financially fuelling the war effort. This CEPR Policy Insight by Anette E. Hosoi and Simon Johnson proposes a strategy to constrict Russia's global oil export network, by implementing a blanket provision that prohibits all Russian oil and oil product imports, and would make it illegal to carry such cargo in EU-owned tankers. This system of sanctions would provide the legal basis to break existing contracts along the supply chain, and severely restrict Russia's ability to finance its military operations in Ukraine.