The study shows that the majority of Western companies continue to do business in Russia. Only about 8% of EU companies have withdrawn from Russia, and most of the Western firms still operating in the country are German, Politico reports.
A vast number of firms headquartered in the European Union and G7 countries continue to operate and invest in Russia.
Less than 9 percent of about 1,400 EU and G7 companies that had subsidiaries in Russia before the full-scale invasion had divested at least one subsidiary in the country by November 2022, according to data obtained by professor Simon Evenett, from the University of St. Gallen.
And this is despite Western sanctions against Moscow and the media reports of multiple companies’ exits from the country.
"These findings call into question the willingness of Western firms to decouple from economies their governments now deem to be geopolitical rivals," the study's authors say in a statement
“Some of the world's largest companies, such as Ford, Renault, McDonald's, Ikea and Shell are among the dozens of Western businesses which have completely pulled out from Russia. Yet, many others, such as the consumer goods giant Unilever, U.S. fast food franchise Subway and Italian pasta-maker Barilla have continued to operate in the country,” the publication says.
The majority of Western companies that remain fully active in Russia are German, according to the study.