Biden to announce sanctions on Russian oil exports
3 Min Read
The US desperately looks for alternatives from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela while taking a drastic decision in parallel with no clear fate.
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Biden to announce sanctions on Russian oil exports
US President Joe Biden will be announcing that the US will ban all Russian oil, natural gas, and coal imports as a response to the Russian operation of Ukraine, according to a source close with the matter.
Congress and Ukraine have been pressuring Biden to sanction Russia's most paramount industrial sector, but he was hesitant to do so in fear that energy prices would rise and opposition of US allies in Europe.
Read more: Oil embargo would hit global market hard
The United Kingdom, furthermore, will also be announcing its ban on Russian oil - London imports most of its energy from Norway. However, it will not be banning natural has.
Today, the European Commission has recently released a plan to reduce European dependency on Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year, and completely abandon Russian energy before 2030.
Just yesterday, top European leaders said that they will not abandon Russian gas, because there exists no present alternative in the time being.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: "All our steps are designed in such a way as to hit Russia hard and be sustainable in the long term. Europe deliberately removed energy supplies from Russia from sanctions. At present, there is no other way to ensure Europe's energy supply for heat production, transport, electricity supply and industry. Therefore, it is essential for services of common interest and the daily lives of our citizens."
Read more: Sanctions won't target Russian energy supplies: Scholz
Today, Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives will proceed with banning Russian oil imports, despite Biden's executive action according to an aide for the Democrat party. Banning normal trade relations with Russia could also be on the table.
According to the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers trade association, Russian oil accounts for approximately 3% of US crude oil imports and 1% of total crude oil processed by US refineries.
With gas prices on the hike, Biden's administration has been looking for ways to unlock more oil supplies in the global mark to ameliorate the gas prices.
Negotiations that Biden has been initiating include with Saudi Arabia, that has been experiencing tensions with its crowned prince, Venezuela which is under draconian US sanctions, and possibly Iran after a nuclear deal is struck in the coming days.
