>>The US government has so far resisted the label for Russia, citing potential unintended consequences under its legal system.

I suspect the issue is that the US has laws forbidding trade with 'state sponsors of terrorism' - or their trading partners. Europe is still trading with Russia.

I would guess that the US not trading with some European countries (read: Germany) could count as a 'consequence'. I'd also guess that that might cause an economic crash - which in turn could go global.

No evidence, just thinking aloud here...