In the fight against Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden makes a sacrifice with economic and electoral consequences. He announced a ban on imports of oil and gas from Russia on Tuesday. It is one of the toughest sanctions the US government has imposed in this crisis. “We are touching an artery of the Russian economy,” Biden said.
The decision was made “in close consultation with our allies,” the president said. “And we realize that not all of our allies and partners are now in a position to join us in this area.” Unlike the United States, Europe is heavily dependent on Russian fossil fuels. Last year the US imported an average of about 700,000 barrels of oil from Russia per day, Europe imported an average of 4.5 million barrels per day. The US does not import any Russian gas at all, Europe depends on Russia for about 40 percent of its gas consumption.
Higher petrol price
Yet Biden’s move is not painless for the US either. Inevitably, the already high price of oil worldwide will continue to rise and the economy will take a hit. Biden has been criticized in his own house for months for the sharply increased prices at the pump. A year ago, the average price of gasoline in the US was $2.77 per gallon (3.79 liters). Now it has risen to 4.17 dollars (about 1.10 euros per litre). In previous speeches about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden said he would do everything he could to spare the American driver. On Tuesday, he had to admit that this decision will push the price of petrol further.
Biden underlined that he can count on support from Democrats and Republicans in his measures against the Russian government. But he also used his speech on Tuesday to push for “accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy”, which is politically controversial. Also, the fact that Biden, not for the first time, pointed the finger at some oil companies and accused them of pushing prices up, will not sit well with the opposition.
Deals with Iran or Venezuela?
In recent days, there has been much speculation about additional imports from oil-producing countries with which the US is definitely not on good terms: Iran, Venezuela and also Saudi Arabia, an ally who ended up in the dock after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. US officials last weekend in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, held talks with the government of President Nicolás Maduro, whose electoral victory the US still does not recognize.
Also read: After the chaos in Afghanistan, Ukraine is a rematch for Biden
The US is engaged in talks with Iran over a restoration of the international nuclear deal that President Obama concluded and President Trump broke. It’s still unclear how the war in Ukraine will affect those talks, and whether the US administration will, for example, be more likely to ease or lift existing sanctions on Iranian oil.