Morning Brief: July 17

• Russia ranks third among gas suppliers to Europe. In May, EU countries purchased 703 million euros worth of liquefied natural gas from Russia, and another 408 million euros were paid for pipeline gas. Russia's total revenue from these supplies amounted to 1.1 billion euros, which is 25% more than in April. In terms of supplies, Moscow was able to bypass Norway, becoming one of the three largest gas suppliers to the eurozone. 

• Trump plans to impose duties of 10-15% on imports of goods from about 150 small countries. The American ex-president said this in an interview with the TV channel Real America's Voice. According to him, the administration has not yet decided on the exact size of the tariff, but a final decision will be made in the near future. Earlier, Trump had already announced the introduction of 30% duties on products from Mexico and EU countries. Even before the full launch of these tariffs, the United States managed to earn an additional $100 billion.

• Bitcoin may reach $150,000 in the next six months. Two key bills are being discussed in the US Congress that could radically change the global cryptocurrency market. The first of them involves legalizing stablecoins as a means of payment and allowing American banks to issue their own stablecoins. The second one puts cryptocurrencies in the category of commodities, which excludes their regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• Japan has resumed oil imports from Russia for the first time in 2.5 years. In June, a small shipment of 70,000 tons was delivered to the country. The cost of the delivery was $25 million, as indicated in the report of the Ministry of Finance of Japan.

• The United States continues to delay the approval of a deal with the UAE for the supply of Nvidia chips, fearing that advanced technology could end up in China. Negotiations on the multibillion-dollar deal, which began in May, have not yet been completed. The American side insists on fulfilling the conditions that correspond to the interests of national security. In addition to concerns about the resale of chips to China, Washington is seeking to restrict access to these technologies by G42, a leader in the development of artificial intelligence in the UAE.