Do we need to divest our own lives from Russia?

TAMPA, Fla. - While many companies and the U.S. government have halted business in Russia, economists say it may not be necessary for private individuals to worry that their money is going to Russia by way of private purchases.

In 2019, the United States took in $22 billion of Russian goods, of which $13 billion was oil and $4 billion was stone and metal. 

The federal government and private companies are cutting off the supply, before it even gets to consumers, with an executive order that bans the import of Russian oil and numerous companies that promise to stop doing business there.

"Russians will lose their jobs," stated Tim Ash, an expert in the Russian economy who works for BlueBay Asset Management. "They will see a catastrophic decline in living standards and wealth. Much higher inflation because of this. Eventually, they are going to put two and two together."

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One question is how much Russian grain enters the U.S.?

Russia is the world's top wheat producer, but the U.S. exports much more wheat than it imports, $7 billion versus only $400 million.

"We might get some food products, but typically speaking, they are not a big exporter of consumer goods Americans would typically purchase," said Towson University economist Daraius Irani. "Some in the Russian community may not be able to get some of their specialty foods, but that typically is it."

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Economists do say the clampdown on Russian products could lead to price increases worldwide.

Russia was our 26th largest trading partner in 2019.