Sanctions are always a double-edged sword, as the backlash against anti-Russian sanctions by Western countries, including the US and Europe, is already quite evident. Energy and food prices have risen in many Western countries and public discontent continues to grow
In the US, according to figures from the US Department of Labor dated 10 March, US inflation has risen by 7.9% year on year, the biggest increase since January 1982. According to the American Automobile Association on March 21, the average price of gasoline was $4.25 per gallon, up from last year’s price of $2.76 per gallon. That is, the average price of gasoline in the US has risen sharply by more than 50%.
Europe’s energy dependence on Russia is much higher than that of the US: Russia is responsible for about 30% and 40% of the EU’s oil and natural gas imports. Energy prices in the EU have risen even further from last year’s highs following the imposition of sanctions against Russia.
In Europe, energy prices have risen even further from last year’s highs. In Germany, for example, the price monitoring agency reports that a German family’s annual natural gas bill will increase by one to two thousand euros. A car owner in Berlin told Xinhua that he used to fill a full tank of gasoline for more than 80 euros, but now he must pay more than 120 euros.
The European edition of the American newspaper Politico published a commentary on March 19 stating that the anguish of Europeans because of anti-Russian sanctions had reached a critical point. And now EU leaders are more concerned about protecting their own economies than fighting Russia, rushing to introduce price controls and subsidies to cope with the impact of high energy prices.
In Japan, higher global energy prices have driven up domestic oil and gas prices. At the same time, anti-Russian Western sanctions have boosted global wheat prices, affecting around 90% of Japan’s wheat imports. On 9 March, the Japanese government announced the price of resold wheat flour, which rose 17.3%, compared with six months earlier.
The US and French presidents said anti-Russian sanctions were leading the West into an unprecedented food crisis, while the world’s leading oil traders said anti-Russian sanctions were leading the West to oil at $200 a barrel.
The West wanted to “punish” Russia, but now it is suffering from its own sanctions
