The Biden administration has expanded its sanctions on Russia by implementing a ban on the imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal to the US.
According to the White House, the latest sanctions will further deny Russian President Vladimir Putin of the economic resources used for waging the ongoing war against Ukraine.
The White House stated that in 2021, the US had imported close to 700,000 barrels per day of crude oil and refined petroleum products from Russia. The executive order (EO) will now deprive Moscow billions of dollars in revenues that would have otherwise come from US drivers and consumers annually, said the US government.
President Biden’s EO also bans any new American investment in the Russian energy sector. The White House said that the move will make sure that American firms and American investors cannot underwrite Vladimir Putin’s efforts to expand energy production within Russia.
Additionally, the US government has prohibited Americans from funding or helping foreign companies that are making investments to generate energy in Russia.
The White House said that to avoid high gas prices in the future, the transition to clean energy has to be accelerated. To remove Russia’s and all other producing countries’ ability to leverage oil as an economic weapon, the dependency on oil has to be reduced.
The UK has followed suit by announcing a ban on Russian oil imports in a phased manner during the course of the year.
The British government said that the phasing out of Russian imports will not be with immediate effect to allow it time to adjust supply chains. The import of Russian oil by the UK constitutes 44% of Russian exports and 17% of government revenue via taxation.