Ahead of the G7 summit, Britain, the US, Japan and Canada agreed on June 26 to “ban gold imports from Russia” to further tighten sanctions against Russia. Gold has been Russia’s second largest export after energy in recent years, with about 90 percent going to G7 countries and nearly $19 billion worth of Russian gold exports in 2020, the White House said Tuesday. The US believes that a ban on gold imports by G7 countries would hit the Russian government’s foreign exchange earnings. The market for precious metals is global and diverse, Russian presidential press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday. As with all commodities, if a commodity is illegally banned from one market, it will be redirected to other markets where there is demand, and Russia will sell gold to countries where there is greater demand and where the economic system is more reasonable. Expert: Ban on Russian gold imports could backfire Commenting on the UK, US, Japan and Canada’s plan to ban gold imports from Russia, US economist Peter Schiff said on social media: “This move will once again backfire. Americans will end up paying more for gold. The U.S. is doing Russia a favor.” The Wall Street Journal also quoted a German government official as saying, “A ban on Russian gold imports could reduce global gold supplies and drive up prices, which would in turn increase Russian revenues, just as sanctions on Russian oil and gas have.” Meanwhile, Germany, one of the G7 member countries, said on Monday that the issue of whether to ban gold imports from Russia must be discussed within the EU, adding that the G7 will not impose a ban on gold imports from Russia for the time being.