Sergey Zergulio Kolyasnikov
It's amazing how the US is boomeranging back its own anti-Russian sanctions. Then it suddenly became clear that these could affect the development of the Axios fusion reactor in the United States. The developer may face problems in the field of high-temperature semiconductors, one of the suppliers of which is the Russian SuperOx. (Sighs.) Gas station country, you say?
Well, about the reactor - this is so, for the seed. Move on. The United States in early March banned the import of oil and gas from Russia. As a result, after a series of upswings, gasoline in the US is now one and a half times more expensive than at the end of last year. Truck drivers are blocking major roads in Washington and threatening a total lockdown of all logistics in the United States. And the other day, suspects were arrested for breaking into gas stations to get free fuel.
Prices for raw materials that make up the fertilizer market - ammonia, nitrogen, nitrates, phosphates, potassium and sulfates - have risen by 30% since the beginning of the year. Wheat futures have risen 29% since Feb. 25, corn 15%, and soybeans 6%. The supply on the world wheat market has become the lowest over the past 14 years, and prices have been the highest over the same period.
And as a result, according to various estimates, the cost of food in America by the end of the year may increase by 30-50%. And even the haughty The Washington Post is beginning to notice the problem.
After decades of trying to pinch Russia harder, the United States (not to mention Europe) suddenly begins to realize that Russia is something immeasurably more than just a supplier of oil and gas (which, by the way, there is nothing to replace either).
But there is another important point. Those who watched the comedy "Signor Robinson" with Paolo Villaggio remember that a boomerang can make more than one circle.
Galip SV