The United States and its major allies are revoking Russia’s “most favored nation” status, President Joe Biden announced, in a move he said is aimed at punishing the Russian government for its invasion of ukraine.
The decision, announced Friday, downgrades Russia’s trade status with the United States and allows Washington to impose higher tariffs on Russian goods.
Biden said it was taken in coordination with NATO allies, the European Union and the G7.
“What [Russian President Vladimir] Putin continues his ruthless assaultThe United States and our allies and partners continue to work in unison to increase economic pressures on Putin and further isolate Russia on the global stage,” he told reporters.
The “most favored nation” standard, which requires similar treatment in trade relations between countries, is the international norm. In the US, “Most Favored Nation” status is also known as Standing Normal Trade Relations (PNTR). Only North Korea, Cuba and now Russia do not have that status in the US.
“Revoking the PNTR for Russia will make it more difficult for Russia to do business with the United States, and doing so in unison with other nations to represent half of the world economy will be another crushing blow to the Russian economy that is already suffering greatly. seriously because of our sanctions,” Biden said.
On Friday, Biden also pledged to continue the pressure to penalize wealthy Russians with close ties to Putin, saying the US and its allies are going after their assets.
“We are also going to make it difficult for them to buy high-end products manufactured in our countries; we are prohibiting the export of luxury goods to Russia,” the US president told reporters.
“High-end watches, luxury vehicles, high-end clothing, high-end alcohol, jewelry, and other goods frequently purchased by Russian elites” are a few examples, the White House said in a statement.
Under the executive order, seafood, spirits/vodka and non-industrial diamonds are no longer allowed to be imported from Russia.
“This will deny Russia more than $1 billion in export revenue and ensure that American citizens do not finance Putin’s war,” the White House said.
The decree will also establish the rules under which Americans can invest in any sector of the Russian economy. Previously, new investments in the Russian energy sector were prohibited.
Friday’s announcement comes as the US and its allies increase pressure and sanctions on Russia as its forces push to capture Ukraine’s major cities. Canada had unilaterally revoked Russia’s “Most Favored State”.
Russia launched a full invasion from Ukraine on February 24 after a months-long standoff in which Moscow amassed troops near the Ukrainian border while demanding an end to NATO expansion in the former Soviet republics.
Biden russian forbidden oil and gas imports earlier this week. And European countries have pledged to drastically decrease their dependence on Russian fuel for their energy needs.
In a joint statement later on Friday, the G7 countries of the United States, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada confirmed the revocation of Russia’s “most favored nation” status and announced additional sanctions against Moscow.
The measures include efforts to “prevent Russia from obtaining financing from major multilateral financial institutions, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.”
“Russia cannot grossly violate international law and expect to benefit from being part of the international economic order,” the statement said.
For his part, Biden highlighted the steps the United States is taking to increase support for Ukraine.
Congress passed a major spending bill late Thursday that includes $13.6 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine Biden said he hopes to sign the legislation “immediately.”
“We will make sure Ukraine has weapons to defend itself against the Russian invasion force,” Biden said. “We will send money, food and help to save the Ukrainian people. And I will welcome the Ukrainian refugees. We should welcome them here with open arms if they need access.”
Still, the US president reiterated that the US will not enter a military conflict with Russia in Ukraine, amid calls to establish a NATO-forced one. no fly zone all over the country.
“We will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine,” he said. “The direct confrontation between NATO and Russia is World War III. Something we must strive to prevent.”
On Thursday, Putin promised that Russia will win western sanctions. “In the end, all of this will lead to an increase in our independence, self-sufficiency and our sovereignty,” he said at a televised government meeting.
But Biden said that Russia is destined to lose the war in Ukraine.
“We already know that Putin’s war against Ukraine will never be a victory,” the US president told reporters on Friday. “He expected to dominate Ukraine without fighting; failure. He hoped to fracture European resolve; failure. He hoped to weaken the transatlantic alliance; he failed… The American people are united and the world is united, and we stand with the people of Ukraine.”