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The Morning Risk Report: Trump Weighs Sanctions Against Russia as Relationship With Putin Sours

By Richard Vanderford | Dow Jones Risk Journal

 

Good morning. President Trump is eyeing sanctions against Moscow this week as he grows frustrated by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s continued attacks on Ukraine and the slow pace of peace talks, according to people familiar with Trump’s thinking.

The restrictions likely wouldn’t include new banking sanctions, one of the people said, but other options are under discussion to pressure the Russian leader into concessions at the negotiating table, including a 30-day cease-fire supported by Ukraine that Russia has long rejected. Trump might also decide not to impose new sanctions.

Trump addressed the potential of new sanctions on Sunday, saying that he is “absolutely” considering them. “He’s killing a lot of people,” Trump said of Putin. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. What the hell happened to him?”

Trump is also tiring of the peace negotiations and is considering abandoning them all together if a final push doesn’t work, people familiar with his thinking said, a remarkable change for a leader who campaigned on his ability to end the conflict on his first day in office. It is unclear what would happen if the U.S. retreats from the peace process and whether Trump would continue to provide military support to Ukraine.

 
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Protecting essential assets using a minimum viability approach can reduce recovery time and costs during and after a cyberattack—but agentic AI’s impact should be considered. Read More

More Risk & Compliance articles from Deloitte
 

Compliance

People held up photographs of family members who were among 346 people killed in two deadly 737 MAX crashes, outside a Senate committee hearing in 2019. Photo: sarah silbiger/Reuters

Boeing in tentative agreement to pay $1.1 billion to avoid trial for 737 MAX crashes.

Boeing and the Justice Department reached a tentative agreement for the plane maker to pay $1.1 billion to avoid prosecution for two passenger-jet crashes.

The nonprosecution agreement would mean that Boeing would avoid a trial—which was scheduled to start June 23—for two crashes of its 737 MAX jets that left 346 people dead.

 

Trump administration lifting most Syria sanctions.

The U.S. lifted most sanctions on Syria, following through on a promise by President Trump to ease restrictions on the war-torn country.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Friday it had provided “immediate sanctions relief” to Syria in line with Trump’s announcement.

“As President Trump promised, the Treasury Department and the State Department are implementing authorizations to encourage new investment into Syria,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “Syria must also continue to work towards becoming a stable country that is at peace, and today’s actions will hopefully put the country on a path to a bright, prosperous, and stable future.”

 ‏‏‎ ‎
  • The European Union will again delay implementing tougher global rules for banks’ trading businesses as the bloc seeks to level the playing field for European lenders amid U.S. President Trump’s deregulation push.
     
  • A third former Credit Suisse investment banker has been banned from the U.K.’s financial services industry over her role in a massive bribery scheme centered on Mozambique, closing another chapter in long-running legal and regulatory proceedings over the so-called tuna-bonds scheme.
     
  • A judge struck down President Trump’s order against the law firm Jenner & Block, adding to defeats the administration has suffered against law firms that have challenged orders targeting them.
     
  • Apple stepped up efforts in recent weeks to fight Texas legislation that would require the iPhone-maker to verify ages of device users, even drafting Chief Executive Tim Cook into the fight.
     
  • The European Commission is investigating whether pornographic websites Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX and XVideos are breaking strict new tech rules designed to shield minors from harmful online content.
 ‏‏‎ ‎
$14.1 Billion

How much Nippon Steel has offered to take over U.S. Steel. The deal received a conditional green light from President Trump.

 

Risk

A store for Italian luxury brand Prada in New York Photo: Adam Gray/Reuters

Trump pushes back deadline on EU tariffs to July 9.

The U.S. will hold off on implementing additional tariffs on the European Union until July 9, President Trump said, giving a reprieve on his threat to impose 50% tariffs on the 27-nation bloc on June 1 if the two sides couldn’t reach a trade deal.

Trump said in a social-media post Sunday that he received a call from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen requesting an extension while talks continue. “It was my privilege to do so,” he wrote.

“She said we will rapidly get together and see if we can work something out,” Trump told reporters.

  • EU Agrees to Fast-Track Trade Talks With U.S.
  • U.S. Stock Futures, European Indexes Rise on Trump’s EU Tariff Climbdown
  • Tariffs Are Challenging the Cachet of Luxury Goods From Europe
 

Russia defies Trump with largest-ever drone-and-missile attack on Ukraine.

Russia launched its largest-ever drone-and-missile assault on Ukraine overnight Sunday into Monday, according to Ukrainian officials, defying President Trump’s calls for an end to the bombardment.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched more than 350 explosive drones and at least nine cruise missiles. Kyiv scrambled aircraft and deployed electronic warfare systems and mobile air-defense teams throughout the country in response, the government said.

  • Trump Calls Putin ‘Crazy’ After Massive Russian Aerial Assaults on Ukraine
 
  • The Israeli military on Sunday said that it plans to capture 75% of the Gaza Strip within two months and push Palestinian civilians into just a quarter of the Strip’s territory as part of a new effort to rid Gaza of Hamas.
 ‏‏‎ ‎

“We will not shy away from holding e-commerce platforms to account, regardless of where they are based. It’s now for Shein to step up, respect the rules and bring its practices fully in line with EU consumer standards.”

— Michael McGrath, the European Commissioner for justice and consumer protection. EU regulators said China-founded e-commerce platform Shein’s sales tactics fall foul of EU law.
 

What Else Matters

  • There's a billion-dollar business behind Trump’s immigration crackdown.
     
  • Haiti’s besieged government is using drones strapped with explosives to strike gangs that have turned the nation’s capital into a hellscape.
     
  • President Trump used every lever of power available to muscle a massive tax bill through the House, showing his iron grip on the Republican Party four months into his second term.
     
  • Harlem’s Charlie Rangel, one of the longest-serving members of Congress, died on Memorial Day at age 94.
     
  • David Solomon was fed up with his critics inside Goldman Sachs. The time had come to crack down.
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About Us

Follow us on X at @WSJRisk. Send tips to our reporters Mengqi Sun at mengqi.sun@wsj.com and Richard Vanderford at richard.vanderford@wsj.com.

You can also reach us by replying to any newsletter, or by emailing our editor David Smagalla at david.smagalla@wsj.com.

 
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