“Damage to the Americans and their allies”: what a possible US ban on oil imports from Russia could lead to

The House of Representatives of the US Congress is considering the possibility of a ban on the import of oil and energy from Russia to the United States.

This was stated by the speaker of the lower house and representative of the Democratic Party Nancy Pelosi.

"Our bill provides for a ban on the import of Russian oil and energy into the United States," Pelosi said in a statement posted on her official website.

The speaker also emphasized that the United States does not have to choose between democratic values ​​and economic interests.

"The administration and Congress remain extremely focused on getting American families and our partners to reduce energy prices that have risen as a result of Putin's invasion," she said.

The "invasion" of the United States refers to the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, which was announced on February 24 by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As the Russian leader noted, the operation is designed to protect the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics from the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The speaker of the House of Representatives also stated that the American side welcomes the readiness of its allies, primarily the EU countries, to reduce "dependence on Russian energy carriers."

“Having visited the Munich Security Conference, we were encouraged by the words of our allies (especially from the European Union) who announced their intention to continue to diversify their energy supply channels, as well as reduce their dependence on Russian energy carriers,” Pelosi said.

She also stressed that the House of Representatives is considering "strong legislative measures that will further isolate Russia from the global economy."

In particular, we are talking about breaking "normal trade relations" with Russia, as well as "taking the first step towards depriving the Russian Federation of access to the World Trade Organization."

“We would also authorize the executive branch to raise duties on Russian imports,” Pelosi said.

The speaker of the lower house of Congress also noted that against the backdrop of the West's "carefully coordinated efforts to consistently impose sanctions on Russia and mitigate the costs of these efforts," the United States allegedly defends its values ​​​​abroad and at the same time, according to Pelosi, protects American families. .

Prohibit import

Earlier, Democratic Senator Ed Markey introduced a bill to the upper house of the US Congress, which provides for a ban on the import of oil and petroleum products from Russia into the United States.

A similar initiative was introduced to the Senate by Republican Roger Marshall.

As stated in a press release on its official website, Russia is the third largest oil supplier to the United States, and the United States can no longer "subsidize Russian aggression."

Every day, the United States and our European allies send hundreds of millions of dollars to Russia for its energy resources.

— In 2021, the US imported about 700,000 barrels of oil from Russia daily.

Our country has unnecessarily contributed to the industrial success of a hostile competitor that has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to use its energy exports as a weapon.”

• American oil tankers

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As noted, the bill introduced by Marshall "eliminates Russian fuel from American supply chains."

“The bans specified in the bill will come into force 15 days after its adoption and will not apply to supplies that will already be in the process of implementation at that time,” the press release says.

On March 5, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the plans of the American side to limit the use of Russian oil.

According to him, this is a topic that Moscow is carefully monitoring.

“Of course, this is a situation that can pretty much distort the world energy markets.

This cannot but have rather serious consequences," Peskov stressed.

“We are closely monitoring the development of the situation.”

In turn, Germany opposed the imposition of an embargo on Russian energy carriers.

According to German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the refusal to supply oil, gas and coal from Russia will provoke a sharp rise in energy prices in Western Europe and around the world due to reduced supply.

Washington's position

Recall that on March 2, the White House announced that Washington was imposing export restrictions on oil production technologies against Moscow.

This was stated in the corresponding press release.

The White House statement also noted that the United States and its allies have a strong interest in reducing Russia's status as a leading energy supplier over time.

The next day, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a briefing that the United States was continuing to consider decisions that Washington could take "to reduce the consumption of Russian energy resources in the United States."

“If you look at the data in the public domain, for us (Russian supplies.

) make up only 10% of total imports.

But, again, the reduction in supply will affect prices, including at gas stations, ”she said.

Psaki also noted that the United States has no “strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy,” as this will negatively affect the American population as well.

“This is fraught with price increases at gas stations (and.

) for Americans, (and.

) around the world, because this will reduce the amount of available stock.

It's simple: a reduction in supply entails an increase in prices.

And this is undoubtedly a serious factor for the president in this matter at the moment, ”she said.

Later, in an interview with NBC, which was published on the State Department website on March 6, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Washington was discussing with its partners in Europe the refusal to import Russian oil.

He also added that he had already spoken on this topic with US President Joe Biden.

“Not only the citizens of the United States will suffer, but the whole world”

As political scientist Alexander Asafov noted in an interview with RT, the statements of American officials regarding the ban on oil imports from Russia to the United States "cross the line of adequacy."

“They are trying to come up with new bills to cause even more economic damage to the Russian Federation, not realizing that the damage will be done primarily to the States themselves.

Some of them allow themselves statements that are simply unacceptable for politicians.

It seems that they are exercising at the level of some transcendent absurdity, since it is absolutely clear that there are far from many opportunities left for sanctions pressure on Russia that would not harm the United States itself and the rest of the world, ”the expert said.

According to Asafov, the statements of US senators and congressmen are part not only of the sanctions, but also of the information attack on the Russian Federation.

“Basically, there is an information-sanctions war against the civilian population of Russia, attempts to demoralize Russian society are not overlooked.

This is the main goal of Washington, ”the analyst said.

• White House

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In addition, bills to ban oil imports from Russia to the United States were submitted to the Senate, and are now being discussed in the lower house of Congress “for the sake of the domestic political agenda” of the United States.  

“This is largely a work for the internal viewer, to distract him from the rise in gasoline prices, from inflation within the country.

To do this, the topic related to the sanctions policy against the Russian Federation must be supported in the media.

Despite the loud statements of Nancy Pelosi and her other congressional colleagues, the final decision on the sanctions packages is made by the US President, who consults with the State Department, ”the expert believes.

Nevertheless, as Asafov noted, many congressmen and senators themselves are promoting the topic of anti-Russian sanctions, keeping it on the agenda in order to demonstrate the determination of the United States "to go all the way on this path, despite the damage from these actions to the Americans themselves and their allies."

According to the Deputy Director General of the National Energy Institute Alexander Frolov, if the United States really imposes a ban on the import of oil and petroleum products from Russia, this will first of all seriously worsen the life of ordinary Americans.

“The position of the Russian Federation among importers of oil and oil products in the United States began to strengthen since 2019, when the ban on oil imports from Venezuela came into force.

The share of Russian deliveries is indeed about 10%, as Psaki noted.

And this is a pretty significant amount that the States will need to replace with something if they impose an embargo.

But Washington still does not know how to do this.

Even all OPEC countries taken together will not be able to quickly provide this volume, ”the analyst said in a conversation with RT.

As Frolov emphasized, it is possible that, by imposing an embargo on Russian oil, the American authorities will thus impose sanctions “primarily against their own population,” since this will further raise the price of gasoline, and as a result, a number of other goods.

At the same time, Frolov stressed that because of such actions by Washington, "not only ordinary US citizens, but the whole world will suffer."

“The world market will instantly react with a huge drop, energy resources will rise in price even more,” he said.

And in such circumstances, according to Frolov, even if the United States completely abandons Russian oil, "the cash flow for its supplies can remain at the same level."

“After the introduction of this kind of sanctions, it may well be that oil will cost even more, which is beneficial for Russia, which supplies it not only to the United States.

For the Russian Federation, the Asian direction remains relevant, oil supplies from the United States can be redirected to Asia, they can be transported along the Northern Sea Route, ”the expert is sure.

• Session of the lower house of the US Congress

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Frolov also commented on US attempts to push Europe to abandon Russian energy sources.

In his opinion, the EU, despite pressure from Washington, will not be able to sufficiently diversify supplies.

“The European Union has been trying to do this for a long time, but projects in this area have actually failed because there were no suppliers.

There are no prospects for the current attempts of Europe to diversify supplies.

In addition, if the EU countries refuse Russian energy carriers, this will lead to a sharp increase in prices for electricity and fuel in the domestic market, ”the analyst said.

As for the US congressmen's threats regarding the WTO, Frolov believes that even if Russia succeeds in "absolutely unfairly" expelling it from the organization, this will not affect the state of the domestic economy in any way.

“The Russian Federation, despite the enormous sanctions pressure from the West, does not receive any support from the WTO.

In this sense, the organization is of no use.

Therefore, exclusion from it will not become something extremely tragic for the Russian Federation, ”the expert concluded.