The U.S. House and Senate on Thursday (April 7) each passed bills that would remove Russia’s most-favored-nation trade status and ban Russian oil imports as additional sanctions for the country’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine that date back to late February, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday (April 7).
The Senate passed both the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act and the Suspending Energy Imports from Russia Act by a 100-0 vote, while the House backed the trade bill 420-3 and the oil ban by a 413-9 margin.
Last month, President Joe Biden issued an executive order banning the import of oil from Russia. Biden is expected to sign both bills into law, the report said.
“Formally revoking normal trade relations with Russia is precisely the right thing for the Senate to do because it will land another huge blow to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s economy,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on the Senate floor Wednesday (April 6) night.
The bills would remove both Russia and Belarus from the most-favored category, increasing tariffs on some imports from both countries and giving Biden the authority to jack up the import duties on some products, including aluminum, wood, wood veneer products and chemicals including fertilizer, according to the report.
About 8% of U.S. imports of oil and refined products — or about 672,000 barrels a day — came from Russia last year, according to the report.
U.S. oil use has averaged about 21 million barrels a day in the past month, up about 8% from last year and on par with levels before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Related: US Motorists Drive Fuel Demand to Pre-Pandemic Levels, Exacerbating Global Shortage
According to the International Energy Agency, which is a watchdog for wealthy countries, conservation should be paramount, as an energy crisis will likely stem from the Russia-Ukraine war. The agency has a 10-point plan, which comes with lower speed limits, working from home and more carpooling.
This would cut up to 2.7 million barrels per day out of the world oil demand.
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