United States lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, have agreed to plans of suspending trade relations with Russia and Belarus amid rising gas prices and the continuing war in Ukraine.
The situation comes as President Joe Biden has yet to make a decision on the matter despite pressure from officials to ban Russian oil imports into the U.S. The Democrat also has not decided on suspending normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus amid the unprovoked attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Russian Oil Import Ban
Even some European countries, which are highly dependent on Russian energy, have shared their willingness to reduce their reliance on those imports. The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said that discussions were "ongoing internally" and with European allies before Biden makes a decision.
The official said that the president of the United States was focused on ensuring that the federal government was taking steps to deliver punishing economic consequences on Russia. On Monday, global stocks dropped amid worries of an oil ban and Moscow's escalating invasion of Ukraine, as per the New York Times.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Biden administration was talking with partners and allies to "look, in a coordinated way, at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil, while making sure there is still an appropriate supply of oil on world markets."
One administration official who said discussions were ongoing also noted that Russia is known to be the third-largest producer of oil in the world and a ban on imports could severely impact other nations other than the U.S. Russian oil exports account for roughly one-third of Europe's oil imports but only about 10% for the U.S.
According to Fox News, the official said that the Biden administration understood that the U.S. had a different set of capacities and capabilities of mitigating the effects of the ban compared to other countries. The discussions focused on addressing the impact of energy price pressures.
NATO Alliance
The situation comes after Blinken reaffirmed the U.S. government's commitment to the NATO alliance, standing with the leaders of Lithuania and Latvia. During a joint press conference, American authorities reassured them that the U.S. will stand with the Baltics against any Russian aggression.
The official said that the U.S. was more committed than ever to stand with these nations as democracy is being challenged. Blinken added that the American nation will defend every inch of NATO territory if an attack comes that way. American lawmakers have announced bipartisan legislation to suspend trade relations with Russia and Belarus despite Biden's inaction on the issue.
Congressmen Richard Neal and Kevin Brady, the Democratic chair and Republican leader of the House ways and means committee, respectively, and Sens. Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo, the Democratic chair and the Republican ranking member of the Senate finance committee, respectively, announced a bipartisan agreement. The legislation will suspend trade relations with the two countries that are believed to be operating in their aggressive invasion of Ukraine, The Guardian reported.
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