EU plans to ban imports of Russian coal

WSJ reports that the European Commission will propose to ban imports of coal from Russia and the supply of new equipment to Russia, to close sea and land borders for Russian carriers.

The EU bans exports to Russia of semiconductors, high-tech equipment, liquefied natural gas extraction equipment and other equipment. The estimated value of the exports is $10 billion.

The EU has no plans yet to impose sanctions on oil or gas, sources said.

The EU is blocking all transactions with VTB Bank and three other Russian banks already excluded from the SWIFT messaging system, EU sources said.

The EU wants to impose restrictions on imports of potash fertilizers from Russia, and to ban imports of Russian cement, timber, rubber, caviar and vodka, WSJ.