Top Airbus Russian titanium supplier pulled off sanctions list

The European Union blocked a proposal to sanction Russian metals company VSMPO-Avisma after France and other member countries objected because of fears of a potential retaliatory ban by Russia on titanium exports, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday Jul. 21.

The company is a critical supplier of titanium to Airbus, which publicly called for the EU to refrain from banning Russian sales of titanium.

VSMPO provides materials for the manufacture of Russian jet fighters, including aircraft deployed in the war in Ukraine, and was set to be added to a list of defense-related Russian companies sanctioned by the E.U.

Titanium is a relatively small source of income for the Russian economy, with exports totaling $415M in 2020, but Russia supplies as much as half of the global aerospace industry’s titanium, and Airbus (OTCPK:EADSF) (OTCPK:EADSY) buys ~65% of its titanium from VSMPO.

For the longer term, Airbus has said it is searching for alternative non-Russian supplies.