Move out of the States: business in the USA seeks to expand its presence in Russia

Companies from the United States are seeking to expand investments in the Russian market, Robert Agee, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Russian Federation (AmCham), told Izvestia. He added that sanctions relief is still a top priority, and the administration of President Donald Trump supports the initiative of the business community to strengthen business ties. At the same time, Washington associates the real easing of restrictions with the course of the Ukrainian settlement, which complicates the process. Even with positive signals for entrepreneurs, the lifting of restrictions will remain a problematic issue, and the American side will take into account both economic interests and the political context.

Trump is aware of the harmfulness of sanctions

Despite the fact that Moscow and Washington are discussing the launch of economic projects, sanctions still remain the main obstacle to the normalization of business ties.

"Lifting the ban on investments is our No. 1 priority. Companies that have remained in Russia would very much like to expand, and those companies that have left or have not yet arrived would like to have such an opportunity in the future," Robert Agee, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Russian Federation (AmCham), told Izvestia.

At the same time, he noted the positive signals that began to appear after the change of power in the White House.

— We see a willingness to establish a dialogue, and this is very encouraging. I think that Trump the president is as cool a brand as Trump the businessman. Therefore, I hope that the Trump president will listen to the Trump businessman and do everything so that politics does not harm business. We can hear it in his performances. He probably sees and understands the damage the sanctions are doing to American companies," Agee added.

According to him, the administration of Donald Trump reacted positively to the content of the White Paper prepared by AmCham, a comprehensive document with proposals for partial lifting of sanctions. The American business considered this analysis as a basis for future dialogue between the countries.

— The White Paper was written in April of this year and presented in Washington in May. Unfortunately, at that time, not all of our key positions in the administration were filled by relevant officials. Meanwhile, those administration officials with whom we managed to meet assessed it as a very important document in case there is a warming between the two countries as a whole. We hope that our White Paper will become a roadmap, as we have described in it all the consequences that sanctions inflict on American companies," the business ombudsman noted.

Contractual phase: The EU will coordinate with the United States the lifting of sanctions against Russia

Lifting restrictions will also require consensus within the European Union.

Back in March, Agee explained that the document had been prepared for several months and had become a concentrated analysis of the problems faced by American companies over the past three years. The priority recommendations include four areas. The first is the lifting of sanctions in the aviation sector: we are talking about the supply of spare parts, technical support and security issues. To promote the initiative, AmCham joined forces with the Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the framework of the Two Continents Initiative project.

The second major block of proposals was the lifting of the ban on new investments, which remains a priority for AmCham. Companies maintaining a presence in Russia are ready to invest in expanding production, but current restrictions are hindering such plans.

The third area concerns the lifting of sanctions against Russian banks, which would significantly reduce the cost of cross-border payments and reduce the cost of doing business. Finally, the fourth business request is the removal of restrictions on the import of goods classified as luxury goods, including cosmetics, a segment where American manufacturers have lost part of the market due to bans.

Washington links sanctions to Ukraine

Next week, these ideas will be part of the discussions at the American-Russian Business Dialogue event, which will be held in Dubai. One of the tasks is to identify areas where cooperation can be restored most quickly.

Prospects for expanding economic cooperation with the United States are also being discussed at the level of official structures of the Russian Federation. Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and special presidential representative for Investment and Economic cooperation, previously reported that 10-15 new joint ventures with American partners could appear in our country by the end of the year. According to him, negotiations are underway on projects in the Arctic, rare earth metals, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals and other sectors.

Expectations of a partial revision of the US sanctions policy are also supported by the increased contacts in recent weeks on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously stated that Western countries would have to consider lifting some of the restrictions if progress was made in the negotiations. He stressed that the sanctions were imposed as a result of the conflict, which means that solving the problem will require reciprocal steps from all parties.

Andrey Baklanov, Deputy Chairman of the Association of Russian Diplomats and Professor at the National Research University of Higher School of Economics, notes that the idea of American companies returning to the Russian market is still more conceptual than real. According to him, there have been no direct discussions on this issue so far.

— What are the sanctions being taken for? First of all, to keep on the hook. If they make any decisions to ease restrictions, they will simultaneously condition this with reciprocal steps, including concessions that we will have to make for American companies. There are specialists there who will sell the lifting of sanctions as dearly as possible," he told Izvestia.

The topic of economic cooperation was raised on December 2 at a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and special envoy of the American leader Steve Witkoff. According to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, "huge prospects for future economic cooperation" between the two countries were discussed, among other things.

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Will it help to support the stagnating economy of the republic

American political analyst Peter Kuznik told Izvestia that an important indicator of Washington's priorities is the composition of the American team involved in the dialogue with Moscow. According to him, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have a key thing in common: both are big businessmen for whom issues of social justice often take a back seat compared to the desire to implement profitable deals. Therefore, the expert believes, their interest will be less focused on finding a "fair balance" for both sides and more on achieving a result.

But even against the background of business's desire to ease restrictions, the Trump administration is demonstrating an attempt to maintain a balance between economic interests and political conditions. The high role of the commercial approach of the American administration does not negate the need for Washington to take into account the course of the Ukrainian settlement.

On October 22, the US Treasury Department included Rosneft and Lukoil in the sanctions list for activities in the energy sector, but on December 5 it allowed international operations with Lukoil necessary for servicing gas stations, extending such an opportunity until April 29, 2026. This combination of pressure and targeted concessions shows that the White House is striving to preserve the space for dialogue, without going beyond the political logic related to the situation in Ukraine.