Ukraine attack: Tech sanctions on Russia a double-edged sword
Sanctions to limit Russia's access to tech components like semiconductors may temporarily hobble its defence industry, but analysts said they risk boomeranging on the West if Russia withholds key raw materials.
Such a move risks pushing Moscow to rely more on China, which will further reduce the West's leverage.
The sanctions the West adopted on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have mostly targeted the financial sector, but some have begun to limit its access to high-tech components.
Japan, which is home to industrial giant Fujitsu, said Friday it will block exports to Russia of "general-purpose goods such as semiconductors".
While the EU is still considering what steps to take, the United States imposed on Thursday a ban that targets the defense and aerospace sectors and includes semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers, and sensors.
The United States can impose its decisions beyond its borders by threatening to shut recalcitrant companies and countries off from access to key US technology.
That is what the Trump administration did in 2019 when it banned Chinese smartphone maker Huawei from using semiconductors and software that use US technology.
Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer TSMC, which was a major supplier of chips to Huawei, had to cut off supplies as it used US technology in their manufacturing.
Huawei had to turn to Chinese chip manufacturers, which didn't have the capacity to build semiconductors with as much processing power.
"Of course Russia could strengthen its ties with China but this doesn't mean the transition could happen overnight," said Francisco Jeronimo, an analyst at market intelligence firm IDC.
"Just think about how long it took for Huawei, how tough it
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