President Biden on Tuesday announced the U.S. will ban Russian oil imports in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at U.S. ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine,” Biden said during remarks at the White House.
“This is a move that has strong bipartisan support in Congress and I believe in the country,” he added. “Americans have rallied to support the Ukrainian people and made it clear we will not be part in subsidizing Putin’s war.”
The ban comes without European participation but was made in consultation with European allies, Biden said.
“We’re moving forward this ban understanding that many of our European allies and partners may not be in a position to join us,” Biden said. “The United States produces far more oil domestically than all the European countries combined.”
“We can take this step when others cannot, but we’re working closely with Europe and our partners to reduce their dependence on Russian energy as well,” he added.
The U.K. is also expected to announce plans to ban the import of Russian oil on Tuesday afternoon, Politico reported. The U.K. ban will include a months-long lead-in time to allow the global market to adjust and to dissuade people from panic-buying gas, officials told the outlet.
Biden faced bipartisan pressure to ban Russian oil and even stalled a bipartisan bill to do so, Fox News’s Jacqui Heinrich reported. The House Ways and Means Committee worked all weekend in a bipartisan manner to develop a bill, she reported. The White House then asked Ways and Means Democrats not to move forward on the bill. Sources reportedly told Heinrich the White House did not want to seem as though it had been boxed in by Congress on the issue.
Bloomberg News confirmed that Congress forced the administration’s hand on the Russian oil ban. Biden officials believed that it would be a “bad look” and asked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to hold off on the bill, according to the report.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for “boycotts of Russian exports, namely refusal from oil and oil products from Russia.”
“If the invasion continues and Russia does not change its plans, then the new sanctions package is needed,” Zelensky said. “New sanctions steps against the war, for the sake of peace.”
Zelenskyy called for “boycotts of Russian exports, namely refusal from oil and oil products from Russia.”
Meanwhile, U.K.-based Shell announced Tuesday it would immediately stop purchasing Russian crude oil and would shutter its service stations in the country in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on the same day the price for U.S. gasoline hit a record high.
Biden said Tuesday’s decision to ban Russian oil is “not without cost at home.”
“Putin’s war is already hurting American families at the gas pump,” he said, warning that the ban will further increase the price of gas.
The U.S. national average price for regular gas hit $4.173 a gallon on Tuesday, surging past the previous record of $4.114 set in July 2008, according to AAA.
“I’m going to do everything I can to minimize Putin’s price hike here at home,” the president said.