US Hypocrisy! It Uses Rubles For Paying For Its Imports From Russian

By Rhod Mackenzie

In 2022 at the begining of Russia's special military operation the US and the EU imposed their shock and awe sanctions,they also cut off most Russian banks from the SWIFT network and Joe Biden declared on TV that the Russian currency the ruble would be rubble and the Russian economy would collapse under the sheer weight and number of sanctions imposed on it. Lets not forget the Empress of Europe Ursula fond of Lying proclaimed loudly that the Russian economy was going to be in tatters,tatters I tell you,funny how 3 years on its the EU economies in Tatters I tell You not only is Russia's economy is not in tatters and neither is the Ruble Rubble.

Now this information might come as a surprise to many of you watching and appear to be rank hypocrisy by the US because it has been reported that multi billion dollar trade turnover between Washington and Moscow, which is circumventing the restrictions,plus is gaining momentum and the currency used for the US imports of Russian goods is the Ruble.This is a key point to note that the Ruble as the predominant payment currency, a factor that the West has been y overlooking. It is on this issue that the interests of Russia and the United States paradoxically converged. So what factors contributed to this outcome:
US businesses purchase a number of different products but all characterised by the fact they cannot source them elsewhere these are things like fertilisers, ,enriched uranium and timber plus precious metals via intermediaries.

The US spent around $ 1.6 billion on Russian fertilisers in the first half of 2025 according to the US Dept of Agriculture and they do this because they cannot produce suficient domestic fertilisers because of a lack of gas pipelines from the fields to deliver gas to the US fertiliser production plants as most pipelines are designed to go to either LNG plants or to petrochemicals.
On enriched uranium exports to the US,in 2025 they were down by 20% but that was due to US energy companies having stockpiled supplies in advance of the supposed ban on the import of enriched uranium from Russia which congress approved back in 2024.This bill which turned out to have more holes in it than a Swiss cheese and more exemptions that an Americian politicians gets for avoiding being drafted into a war.Plus it does not come into effect until 2027.
So currently they spend around $1.2 billion with Russia for enriched uranium and bear in mind nuclear energy in the US powers 37% of the electicity grid and without Russian uranium the lights would go out all over the USA. Plus as the plan is for more nuclear plants to power hungry AI through server farms that importing of uranium will only continue
One of the most surprising US imports from Russia is timber from plywood to wood beams for housing construction although the US produces a large amount of timber its not sufficient and according to analysts Russia plywood is cheaper and more durable than its US equivalent. Plus the timber beams used in housing construction are of a higher quality and have better pricing despite the freight costs.
So the US spent $3.5 billion with Russia the the first six months of 2025 using Rubles and Russia buys $300 million of US medical equipment and its one of the few countries in the world that the US did not impose trade tariffs plus they now pay in Rubles .
Russia also btw imports some medicines and chemical analysis devices from the USA but not a big deal. at only $300 million so it appears that Donny's trade deficit strategy eradication does not apply to Russia

Now while it maybe premature to discuss any significant trends, the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has noted a notable increase in trade turnover. Sergey Katyrin, the head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has stated that the figure increased to 3.8 billion dollars in the first half of the year, with Russian exports accounting for 3.5 billion dollars of this total.

In 2024 the total of Russia's exports to the USA was around $10 billion
It is noteworthy that just three years ago, the prospect of settlements in rubles between the USA and Russia was regarded as impossibe as the dollar was king and the dominant global currency and the ruble not even traded on international markets like the euro,dollar, pound sterling or the yen .

In the current economic climate, this is a key consideration.It is rather amusing to note that Washington's introduction of sanctions has contributed to the resurgence of the ruble as a significant global financial instrument. In the midst of a dynamic political landscape, a subtle yet pivotal transformation has occurred.
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The use of the Russian currency in transactions with both North and South America has increased significantly, rising from 29% to a record level 68% in just one year. This is shown in the data from the Bank of Russia.
The current time period is noteworthy for being one of the most significant in the history of international settlements. For comparison, it took the euro almost ten years to reach a similar level in global trade as the ruble now has .
Artur Leer, Vice President of the Association of Exporters and Importers and Managing Partner of the Lex Alliance Law Firm, believes that the transition to the use of rubles by Russia's trading partners is already part of a global trend.
"This is largely due to the objective restrictions placed in the global financial sector.
The Sanction pressure on and ban on settlements in "hard" currencies using SWIFT , has driven the general global trend towards expanding the use of trading in national currencies, are creating a need for alternative forms of interaction. In such circumstances, the ruble becomes a convenient despite having been a largely forced instrument for maintaining trade and partnership relations," the economist reasons.
The ruble is also strengthening in other areas, with significant gains recorded in international settlements for the growing trade by Russia with Africa and Oceania (70 percent) and the Caribbean (81 percent).
For these regions, the Russian currency is not only beneficial, but also a strategic political move to mitigate risks associated with settlements in dollars or euros. As Vadim Kovrigin, associate professor of the Institute of Economics, Management and Law of Moscow State University, points out, the geography of the ruble's use is expanding on an annual basis.
It is evident that the SCO and BRICS countries are achieving notable success in setting records in levels of trade using national currencies. This is largely attributable to the advantageous position they find themselves in, given the ease with which they can conduct trade in either Russian or their own national currencies.
The ruble's share in trade with Europe has also grown significantly, exceeding 60 percent. This obviously started when the Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted that all Russian gas exports be paid for in rubles and this forced compliance and also stabilised the currency
So then settlements with EU countries, could not use of transfers in both dollars and euros for buying Russian gas.
It is evident that more than half of Russian exports are already settled in rubles. Leer explains that this is ensured by several positive circumstances.
"Firstly, I would like to emphasise the interest in Russia, which is now one of the largest economies in the world plus one that actually produces actual commodities that everybody needs as opposed to services means it will always earn .
This is evidenced by the growing presence of non Western foreign companies who want to be involved in infrastructure and business projects.

Also the strategic desire of countries to reduce their reliance on the use of dollar and euro also plays a role in this. This has resulted in an increased demand for the use of trade in national currencies. Banks have started to view this now as a standard instrument for international settlements," the economist explains.
Leer continues, "The precise figures for the volumes of Russian currency in settlements are still unclear." However, the increasing number of countries and companies adopting the ruble signifies a positive shift and a gradual strengthening of its position.
The Russian currencyhas s becoming a global payment instrument ok it may not be yet challenging the dollar or the euro in the west but withing the SCO,BRICS and trade with the Global south it has certainly made a huge impact .
How the the dynamics of this trend work out are dependent on Western policy. If they continue to put pressure on the Russian banking sectors, then settlements in rubles will become systemic and will only increase, Leer believes. Kovrigin is of the same opinion that the trend will be stable in this case.So Trump's fear of dedollariastion is not unfounded as the SCO,the BRICS and their allies abondon the dollar as a trading currency.
Should external conditions soften, a partial return to global currencies is a possibility but in my opinion very unlikely.
Once they froze Russia foreign currency assets in the West the whole of the member ship SCO,BRICS, OSCEAN and the countries of the African Union realised they could be next and getting away from the dollar was essential
The sanctions, it transpired, have acted as a crucible, whereby the ruble, once viewed as a weak Russian link, has been strengthened and transformed into a pivotal instrument in global trade. It has become a means of conducting business with major economies.
Conversely, the West experienced the opposite outcome: rather than create the isolation of Russia, we witnessed the accelerated emergence of an alternative system in which the use of nationa currencies became the norm. No wonder Trump wants to punish everybody as he needs people to have to buy dollars for trade.