The United States, in coordination with the Group of Seven nations, will seek to end normal trade relations with Russia, President Joe Biden said Friday, a move intended to put more pressure on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine.
For its part, the U.S. government aims to enact a law revoking Russia’s “most-favored nation” status, which guarantees equal trading opportunities among countries within the World Trade Organization. Such a revocation would pave the way for imposing higher tariffs on Russian products.
U.S. President Joe Biden announces actions to continue to hold Russia accountable for its war on Ukraine at the White House on March 8, 2022, in Washington. (UPI/Kyodo)
“Doing it in unison with other nations that make up half of the global economy will be another crushing blow to the Russian economy,” Biden said at the White House, while announcing fresh sanctions he said he and G-7 peers including Japan have agreed on.
Other sanctions Biden announced included a ban on the export of luxury goods to any person located in Russia, such as high-end watches and apparel, and a ban on the import of goods from several signature sectors of Russia’s economy, such as seafood and vodka.
The import ban will deny Russia more than $1 billion in export revenues, the White House said, adding that the United States retains the authority to impose additional import bans as appropriate.
The G-7 — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union — also agreed to ensure Russia cannot obtain financing from leading multilateral financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, according to the White House.
Revoking Russia’s “most-favored nation” status, also called “permanent normal trade relations,” would put the country on par with North Korea and Cuba in terms of trade relations with the United States.
Russia is the 26th-largest goods trading partner of the United States, with $28 billion in total goods trade during 2019, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
Under WTO agreements, countries cannot normally discriminate between their trading partners. Granting a special favor, such as reduced tariffs on imported goods, would obligate the country to do the same for all other WTO members.
