The United States and nearly 40 other countries have responded to Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine with some of the harshest economic measures enacted in the post–Cold War era. In the early weeks of the conflict, media attention focused on the stunning speed with which new sanctions restricting Russia’s access to global capital and financial markets began to hinder key parts of the country’s economy. But even more consequential than sanctions are new sweeping controls on exports to Russia that Washington and its allies have imposed to restrict the flow of many goods. These new controls break
