The Biden administration announced major sanctions on Russia’s energy sector on Friday, adding to heightened tensions with Russia in the final days of the administration as further energy inflation cannot hurt Democrats politically in the short term. There is.
The measures announced Friday are the Biden administration’s “most significant” sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector to date, including two of Russia’s four largest oil producers and dozens of oilfield services companies. , targeting more than 150 vessels in Russia’s shadow oil fleet. tankers etc. According to To the White House. The major lame-duck move against Russia comes ahead of the return of President-elect Donald Trump, who has been vocal about his desire to find a solution to the bloody Russia-Ukraine war. This is expected to increase tensions.
“Some may wonder why we waited until the end of the administration to introduce sanctions on Russian oil. That’s a fair question. The answer is: For sanctions to be successful, they must be sustainable and That doesn’t mean sanctions have to be costly, and they never are, but to be successful they must impact the target beyond harming the U.S. and global economy. “There is,” the White House said. “Until recently, we were constrained by tight supplies in global energy markets, meaning that cutting Russia’s oil exports to the rest of the world would increase Putin’s export revenues, while This meant gas prices for households were likely to rise.” (Related: Endless wave of US-led sanctions could be the biggest gift China has ever received)
President Joe Biden speaks at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, on December 12, 2023. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
After Western countries imposed sanctions in response to the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the administration often mismatched its rhetoric with vigorous sanctions enforcement and targeting of Russia’s oil sector. since then, numerous Reports and analyzes have found that Russia is circumventing some sanctions and selling large amounts of crude oil at discounted prices to buyers such as India and China.
Notably, this invasion occurred just nine months before the critical 2022 midterm elections in the United States, and gas prices across the country soared to record levels. highest average ever That summer, while Western sanctions rocked energy markets, the administration continued its regulatory assault on domestic energy production. If left in place, the new regulations could increase prices in global energy markets and ultimately lead to higher prices for U.S. consumers.
“We are not in a position to speak for the next team,” an anonymous administration official said of Friday’s action. “It is entirely up to them whether, when and under what conditions to lift the sanctions we have introduced.”
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