US Census Bureau Claims Russian Trade in Uranium and Palladium Included in the Drop-off

US Census Bureau reports that Russian trade is plunging, including crucial nuclear fuel and palladium metals. It is the lowest trade between Russia and US in 18 years, as reported by the news outlet RBK last Tuesday.

US-Russia Trade

The number of Russian imports into the US in June was $661 million, the lowest amount since $653 million in February 2004. The amount decreased 1.7 times in a single month and was almost $5 billion less than the $2.5 billion monthly average of 2021, reported RT.

Census data reveals a perilous decline in uranium fuel, platinum metal, and fertilizers that the US needs. Less than $3 million worth of Russian nuclear fuel was imported into the US in June, compared to roughly $114 million in May.

Russian platinum group metal imports, which include palladium, dropped to $76.3 million in August versus $258.5 million in the prior month. Even though they are not on the list of prohibited commodities, the price of essential fertilizers has skyrocketed, reaching a low point of 88.8 million against $135.5 million in May.

Supplies of mineral fertilizers also plunged, even though Washington removed these from the list of sanctioned goods, falling to $88.8 million against $135.5 million in May.

With reciprocal trade turnover between the two nations in June being four times lower than their average monthly turnover in 2021, about $3 billion, exports to Russia reached a record low of $58 million, citing CSM Times.

The US was the fifth partner in trade with Russia, according to US Census Bureau, when the special operation of Russia kicked off in February.

After the beginning of Russia's campaign in Ukraine in late February, Washington halted imports of Russian seafood, diamonds, and other products, as well as oil and petroleum products, which made up nearly 60% of all Russian imports to the US; this includes nuclear fuel and palladium.

As a consequence of these sanctions and limits on transactions with Russian enterprises, the United States has lost a lot of ground to Turkey, whose exports with Russia surpassed $5.88 billion in June. Russia stopped releasing trade statistics in February.

China as the Next Biggest Trading Partner

Shipments climbed by more than 20% in dollar terms in July versus the previous year.

According to Bloomberg, Russia bought $6.7 billion in goods from China in July, increasing more than a third from the prior month, citing data from China's customs administration.

Chinese exports to Russia jumped by 22.2% in dollar terms in July compared to the previous year, outpacing a 17% fall in June. Based on the data published, Reuters calculated the first growth since March.

Imports from Russia surged by 49.3% in July, slower than the 56% growth in June and the 79.6% surge in May.

China-Russia bilateral trade reached $97.71 billion in the first seven months of 2022, a 29% yearly boost. Despite the prominent crash US-Russia trade, Beijing became Moscow's partner in trade.

The US Census Bureau revealed that nuclear fuel and palladium are important exports, along with fertilizer, and China is becoming a dependable partner.