US President Calls on Congress to Suspend Normal Trade Relations with Russia

On Friday, Joe Biden, the United States President, declared that America would seek out to revoke Russia’s ‘most favored nation’ status in a move to punish Moscow for its unprovoked, unjustified attack on Ukraine.

U.S. will move on March 11 to revoke the ‘most favored nation’ status for Russia over its unprovoked attack on Ukraine. President Biden is making a move in coordination with the EU and G-7 nations, marking a further increase of economic pressure on Putin’s Russia. pic.twitter.com/nNGgytNnFa

— Live News Now (@LiveNewsNow6) March 12, 2022

Joe Biden called on U.S. Congress to join Group of Seven (G7) and European Union industrial nations in ending regular trade ties with Russia. If Congress approves, the action will effectively suspend the normal trade links between the two nations and permit the government to announce the news tariffs and consequences in retaliation against Russia’s all-out attack on its neighboring country.

In a White House statement, as he outlined steps designed to pressurize Vladimir Putin and hold him even more answerable for his unjustified violence in Ukraine, the US President said that as Russian leader keeps on his relentless attacks, America and its Western allies continue to increase the economic burden on Putin’s Russia and to more isolate him in the world arena.

‘Most Favored Nation’ Status

‘Most Favored Nation’ (MFN) status is given to an international trade partner to make sure non-discriminatory trade is according to the principle enacted by World Trade Organization’s 164 members. Members of the intergovernmental trade organization WTO commit to dealing with everyone equally so each one can benefit from less trade barriers, higher import quotas, and lower tariffs.

Moreover, American President said that according to the White House estimates, his country would forbid imports of Russian vodka, seafood, and diamonds, denying Kremlin over one billion dollars in export revenues. Mr. Biden said that Vladimir Putin is the assaulter, and he must pay a severe price for his all-out incursion of Ukraine.

Free World Joined Together to Confront Putin

The United States President said he’d also sign an executive order prohibiting American exports of luxury goods repeatedly purchased by the Russian super-rich, including high-end luxury jewelry, clothing, and vehicles. The value of the high-end items covered by the US ban is 550M dollars per annum, according to the White House. Earlier on March 11, the US and Ukrainian leader spoke on the Ukraine crisis, and Biden restated his support for the Ukrainians.

Ending trade ties with Russia is likely to get bilateral support in the US Congress. The U.S. House approved lawmaking earlier this week on a 414/17 vote that suspended Russian energy imports and took actions to review Russia’s WTO participation. The US President expressed gratitude to Nancy Pelosi, the U.S. House Speaker, for shaking hands to block normal trade relations with Russians until Mr. Biden said he could prepare all of their crucial partners to ‘keep us in perfect agreement.’

Additionally, he said that several matters divide them in D.C., but standing for democracy in besieged Ukraine and criticism and disapproval against Russia’s brutality shouldn’t be one of those matters. He added that a free world is joining together to oppose the Russian President.

Joe Biden said in the speech that suspending normal trade ties would make it tough for Moscow to do business with America and that coordinating the decision with other countries will be an additional devastating blow to the economy of Russia. Still, it was uncertain how much of an influence the move would have. Russia isn’t one of the United States’ top trading allies. Exports of Russia to America amounted to 29B dollars in last year, and is ranked as the 26th largest goods trading ally in 2019.