US severs normal trade ties with Russia over Ukraine

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The US Congress voted Thursday to sever normal trade relations with Russia and systemize President Biden's ban on Russian oil as pressures and sanctions mount on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

The legislation also applies to Belarus, a close ally of Russia's, and it enables Washington to hike tariffs on imports, which would make it harder for Russian products to sell in the United States due to the surging prices caused by this policy.

The bill obtained the consensus of the Senate after the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act passed the House of Representatives with a final vote of 424-8.

Biden announced this plan in a speech he gave in March, and he argued that Russia must "pay the price" for the Ukraine crisis.

"Putin must absolutely be held accountable for the detestable, despicable war crimes he is committing against Ukraine: the images we have seen coming out of that country... are just pure evil," claimed Democrat Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as Russia faces countless accusations that have been refuted over and over again, with Moscow providing evidence that such acts have been committed by Ukraine and it was using them to shift the narrative.

The bill is among many that are working their way through Congress that serve Washington's goals of "imposing costs" on Russia and Belarus over Moscow's operation in Ukraine.

The measures include legislation pushed through the House Finance Committee earlier on Thursday to exclude Russia from various international organizations and expand sanctions enforcement to foreign subsidiaries of US companies. 

A key principle of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is the most favored nation status, and it requires nations to guarantee reciprocal tariff and regulatory treatment. Russia was a "most favored nation", but its status was revoked following the beginning of the Ukraine war.

The status-quo and the US sanctions on Russia have weakened US citizens' purchasing power, causing fuel prices to soar in the country with US oil prices reaching their all-time high following a ban on Russian fuel exports. Inflation also surged following the move, putting Americans in the eye of the storm of the highest inflation in four decades.

Washington, in a bid at tightening its chokehold on the Russian economy, moved to block foreign investment in Russia and state-owned enterprises and imposed a new batch of sanctions on the country's banks and senior officials.

After the war in Ukraine started, the US and its allies have rolled out comprehensive sanctions, including restrictions on the Russian central bank, export control measures, SWIFT cutoff for select banks, and closure of airspace to all Russian flights. Many of their companies have suspended their Russian operations.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed in an interview with NBC News that global sanctions had put the Russian economy into a "deep recession," though the Russian currency has been appreciating following a set of decisions taken by Moscow, including only selling energy in exchange for Russian rubles.