President Joe Biden on Friday called for a removal of normal trade relations with Russia, allowing for new tariffs on Russian imports in yet another effort to ratchet up sanctions over Moscow’s intensifying invasion of Ukraine.
Biden said the move will be another “crushing blow” to Russia’s economy.
“The free world is coming together to confront (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” he said. “We’re going to continue to squeeze Putin.”
Biden’s proposal, which would require congressional approval, would put Moscow’s trade relationship with the U.S. in the same category as North Korea and Cuba. The country was the United States’ 26th largest goods trading partner as of 2019, according to the U.S. Trade Representative, with nearly $6 billion in exports and about $22 billion in imports.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Friday said the U.S. House will vote next week on a bill revoking normal trade relations with Russia. The change has support from both Democrats and Republicans. But the White House asked lawmakers earlier this week to wait until Biden could coordinate with allies.
European Union and G7 allies are also expected to act as the toll on Ukrainians continues to mount. Among the most recent attacks is an airstrike on a maternity hospital that killed at least three people, including a child. Russian leaders have denied bombing the hospital.
The moves came as Russia expanded its attacks on Ukrainian cities to include new targets in Western Ukraine,…
