steel tariffs

[Chris Doss]

BTW the Illarionov quoted below is famous for having predicted the 1998
crisis. He also flabbergasted American businesspeople last year when he told
an AmCham meeting that Russia's does not need foreign investment, "as all it
does is increase inflation."

Chris Doss
The Russia Journal
---------------------------

Putin aide says U.S. sanctions a sign that Russian economy is improving

MOSCOW. March 11 (Interfax) - The imposition of trade sanctions against 
Russian exporters, particularly exporters of steel, is a sign that the 
Russian economy is improving. 

   "It is proof that the Russian economy is becoming more competitive," 
Andrei Illarionov, the Russian president's chief economic aide, told 
Interfax. 

   "Washington's decision [to impose duties on Russian steel deliveries] is
a 
sort of de facto acknowledgement that the Russian economy is a market 
economy," Illarionov continued. 

   Firstly, he argued, some Russian manufacturers in certain sectors "must 
certainly be able to compete better on the world markets if they are being 
subjected to sanctions." "This means the reformation and restructuring of
our 
economy are starting to bear fruit." 

   Secondly, Washington's actions "go some way towards illustrating the 
difference between the perceived adherence by some countries to liberal 
foreign trade principles and the policy that the authorities of those 
countries are actually pursuing."