The United States and United Kingdom have announced bans on Russian oil imports, as a step to toughen the pressure on Russia’s economy amid its invasion of Ukraine.
The US completely banned new shipments of oil, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas and coal from Russia. The ban also means that there will be no new US investment in Russia’s energy sector.
“We’re banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy. 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. This is a move that has strong bipartisan support in the Congress and, I believe, in the country,”
Joe Biden, US President, said in a briefing yesterday.
In a statement published by UK’s government, the UK made a decision to phase out the import of Russian oil during the course of the year in response to Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. The phasing out is to allow the UK government some time to adjust its supply chains and work with companies on a new taskforce to support them in finding alternative supplies.
The import of Russian oil makes up 44% of Russian exports and 17% of federal government revenue through taxation.
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