In a vote in Congress, the United States formally annulled the preferential trade regimes of Russia and Belarus on Thursday in retaliation for the war in Ukraine, paving the way for imposing sanctions on the two countries.
Coordinated with US allies in Europe, US President Joe Biden announced the measure last month to “further isolate Russia on the world stage”, but the decision had to be ratified by the House of Representatives and the Senate. He secured widespread support from both parties in both houses of the US Congress.
By depriving Russia of the status of the “most-favored state”, which is mutually enforced in the so-called free trade, Westerners are de facto ending free trade with these two countries and gaining the right to impose heavy tariffs on imports of Russian and Belarusian products.
In the US, only two other countries currently lack the preferential trade regime essential to international trade: Cuba and North Korea.
Last year, the United States imported $ 30 billion worth of Russian goods – including $ 17.5 billion worth of crude oil. However, Washington has already imposed an embargo on Russian oil.
The bill passed by Congress also stipulates that the United States will demand the suspension of Russia’s participation in the World Trade Organization.
Congress also approved a ban on all Russian energy imports, coordinating with President Biden, who announced an embargo on these raw materials in early March with an executive order.
At the same time, the US Treasury Department announced that sanctions are being imposed on two more companies controlled by the Russian state.
The first is Alrosa, a giant in the diamond mining sector, which accounts for 90% of diamonds mined in Russia and 28% of global supply. The group was already facing sanctions, which the US government extended.
The second is United Shipbuilding Corp., Russia’s largest shipbuilding company, which builds “almost all” of the Russian Navy ships, according to a press release released by the US Treasury Department.
All of this adds to the new barrage of sanctions adopted by Western countries in recent days to curtail Vladimir Putin’s economic and financial ties to the rest of the world.
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