Biden must make a decision.
As reports swirl that President Joe Biden would be banning oil imports from Russia to the U.S., an administration official has stated that “no decision has been made yet” regarding the ban.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken revealed the administration was discussing precautionary measures with allies and partners should they decide to ban the import of Russian oil.
Blinken mentioned the U.S. was approaching allies and partners to ” look, in a coordinated way, at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil, while making sure there is still an appropriate supply of oil on world markets.”
However, on Monday, an administration said discussions were ongoing, but that decision on the import ban has not been made.
The administration also revealed that the impact of a Russian oil ban on “U.S. oil imports would be minimal compared to allies and partners.”
As the third-largest oil producer, Russia’s oil imports account for a third of Europe’s oil imports, a figure that is just under 10% in the U.S.
The administration official noted this, saying that the administration recognized the U.S.’s capability to mitigate the impact would differ for “allies and partners.”
The official continued, saying that when the U.S. was engaging with allies and partners, the purpose is to work “with a range of countries around the world — both energy producers and those with reserves of oil supply — on addressing [the] impact of energy price pressures.”
These remarks came after a Reuters report detailing that the Biden administration and European allies were looking into banning Russian oil imports.
They also follow a request by Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called on countries to boycott Russian oil.
In his address, made as the Russian invasion of Ukraine entered its twelfth day, Zelenskyy said, “If the invasion continues and Russia does not change its plans, then the new sanctions package is needed.”
The Ukrainian President continued his pleas, saying that it would be necessary for nations to institute “boycotts of Russian exports, namely refusal from oil and oil products from Russia.”
