Biden moves to revoke Russia’s trade relations status amid war in Ukraine

President Biden on Friday announced that he will work with Congress on legislation to revoke Russia’s permanent normal trade relations status because of its invasion of Ukraine.

That would mean Russia would be one of only three countries to not have normal trade relationships with the United States – the other two are Cuba and North Korea — and it would allow for significantly higher duties on imports of Russian goods.

“Putin is an aggressor. He is the aggressor. And Putin must pay the price,” Biden said of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Biden announced that the United States was also banning the import of certain Russian goods like seafood, vodka and diamonds. The export of luxury exports to Russia has also been prohibited.

The move comes as the G-7 and European Union take similar moves to revoke Russia’s “most favored nation” status. Canada revoked that status for Russia last week.

According to the U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. imports from Russia were worth $22 billion in 2019, the vast majority of which was oil, metals, fertilizer and chemicals.

Friday’s announcement comes just days after the U.S. announced a ban on all U.S. imports of Russian oil, gas and other forms of energy. U.S. allies in Europe were not part of the announcement because they rely on Russian energy imports.

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