Hutchinson: Arkansas is honoring sanctions against Russia

(The Center Square) – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said his office is doing everything it can to honor the sanctions imposed against Russia after its attack on Ukraine.

The governor said he has inquired whether the Public Employees’ Retirement System or the Teachers’ Retirement Fund had any investments in Russian assets.

“The answer is there are no direct investments in Russian assets and so I wanted to provide that confidence that those investment funds controlled by, independently, but by fiduciaries, they are watching that and there’s no direct investments,” Hutchinson said Tuesday at his weekly news conference.

Hutchinson acknowledged economic effects will be felt in the state. However, data showed the state’s overall imports to Russia are small, the governor said.

“We export much more than we import, and so the impact will be largely on the exports that we make, and there’s a price to be made whenever you cut off economic relations with a country or diminish it greatly and so there will be an impact in Arkansas,” Hutchinson said. “Partly in agriculture but also in aero defense materials or airplanes or other materials that we supply.”

Hutchinson said he is encouraging private businesses to look at their relationships with Russia and “think about” the sanctions imposed internationally.

Hutchinson has joined other U.S. governors in banning Russian-produced alcohol.

“Our distributors have reached an agreement that I support in which they’ve agreed not to acquire any additional Russian-based alcohol, and so we’re joining that ban, in essence, through that cooperative agreement with our distributors,” Hutchinson said.

Only 1.3% of total vodka imports to the U.S. in 2021 came from Russia, according to the Distilled Spirits Councils of the United States.

“Some of the popular vodka brands consumers may think are Russian are not produced in Russia,” a spokesperson said.

The governor said state officials also are preparing for any possible cyberattacks from Russia. An alert from the Department of Information Systems also will be sent out to state employees as well as county and city government partners, Hutchinson said. The alert will urge those entities to take preventative measures and put extra precautions in place when handling emails and electronic communications in order to safeguard against any potential cyberattacks.

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