Biden Reverses Course, Announces Ban on Russian Energy Imports

What’s the story?

• President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the U.S. will ban Russian energy imports in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine after his administration spent the last week expressing opposition to such a ban. Biden’s decision to reverse his position comes amid growing bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress for legislation blocking Russian energy imports. 
• In the Senate, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) had 16 bipartisan cosponsors for their Ban Russian Energy Imports Act. The House Ways and Means Committee spent the weekend drafting similar bipartisan legislation that would strip Russia of “most favored nation” trade status that reduces tariffs on imported goods.
• The Biden administration attempted to stymie efforts to draft bipartisan legislation as it lobbied Democratic senators not to cosponsor the Ban Russian Energy Imports Act and the president himself reportedly intervened in an effort to block the House bill. However, the White House’s efforts were unable to persuade leading Democrats to keep the bipartisan bills from reaching the floor.
• Faced with mounting bipartisan pressure, Biden relented in his opposition to banning Russian energy imports and announced Tuesday that he would take executive action to implement a ban on imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal. He spoke to the press at the White House to announce the move and explained:

“This is a step that we’re taking to inflict further pain on Putin.  But there will be costs as well here in the United States.  I said I would level with the American people from the beginning.  And when I first spoke to this, I said defending freedom is going to cost — it’s going to cost us as well, in the United States. Republicans and Democrats understand — alike understand that.  Republicans and Democrats alike have been clear that we must do this.”

• The House is still expected to consider bipartisan legislation to ban Russian energy imports this week with a vote possible as early as Tuesday. It’s unclear if the final bill text will be negotiated with the Senate so that it can clear the upper chamber later in the week, and if the two chambers can’t compromise then the Senate may consider its own bill.

Status of U.S. Energy Imports From Russia

• The U.S. imported an average of 670,000 barrels of oil and petroleum products per day from Russia in 2021 according to the Energy Information Agency ― an increase of 24% in 2021 compared to 2020. 
• Preliminary EIA data for the week after Russia launched its invasion shows that U.S. imports of Russian oil fell to zero due to refineries’ fears of sanctions. 
• Over the last year and a half, there have been occasional weeks when Russian energy imports fell to zero during periods when there wasn’t such a broad push for an embargo on Russian petroleum products.

RELATED READING

• Biden Admin Balks at Banning Russian Oil Imports Amid Putin's Invasion of Ukraine (3/5/22)

— Eric Revell

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