Biden says he’s hitting the ‘main artery of Russia’s economy’ by banning all energy imports

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President Joe Biden announced the United States would target ‘the main artery of Russia’s economy’ on Tuesday with a ban on energy imports from Moscow, while acknowledging the financial squeeze it would put on Americans already paying record-high prices at the pump. 

‘Americans have rallied support —  have rallied to support the Ukrainian people and made it clear we will not be part of subsidizing Putin’s war,’ Biden said at the White House.

He also hit back at Republican accusations that his administration cut back US oil and gas production — insisting he actually pumped more oil than his predecessor Donald Trump did during his first year in office.

Biden insisted American fuel independence could be achieved by transitioning to clean energy which Republicans have claimed that such efforts led the US to today’s vulnerable position and high gas prices. 

It follows relentless pressure from Republican and Democratic lawmakers, though the move could send gas prices even higher than the record $4.17 a gallon reported today. Calls to add a block on energy to the sweeping economic sanctions on the Kremlin and oligarchs have mounted since late last month when Russia’s authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin ordered an unprovoked and bloody invasion of Ukraine.  

Biden said the US’s blockade would ‘deal another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine’ after a vast number of sanctions targeting Russia’s financial institutions and top officials were already levied in coordination with other western governments. 

However, he also admitted that today’s announced ban would impact American drivers as well — dubbing it ‘Putin’s price hike.’

‘The decision today is not without cost here at home. Putin’s war is already hurting American families at the gas pump. Since Putin began his military buildup on Ukrainian borders, just since then, the price of the gas at the pump in America went up 75 cents,’ Biden said.

‘And with this action it’s going to go up further. I’m going to do everything I can to minimize Putin’s price hike here at home.’

European allies, which rely far more on the Kremlin’s energy exports, are not joining the ban but were consulted by US officials.

‘We’re moving forward this ban understanding that many of our European allies and partners may not be in a position to join us. The United States produces far more oil domestically than all of the European countries combined. In fact, we’re a net exporter of energy,’ Biden said. ‘So we can take this step when others cannot.’

In fact, data from the Energy Information Administration show the US shifted to being a net importer of petroleum in 2021, and projected the same for 2022 last month. US oil production peaked under the Trump administration in 2019, before falling 8 percent the next year.

‘It’s simply not true that my administration or policies are holding back domestic energy production. That’s simply not true. Even amid the pandemic, companies in United States pumped more oil during my first year in office than they did in my predecessor’s first year,’ Biden said. 

He insisted that only 10 percent of US oil and gas drilling happens on federally-owned land, and that the majority of that is already leased by energy production giants that ‘they are not using for production now.’  

Biden vowed to keep working toward American energy independence to ‘protect the economy in the long term.’ He cited Europe’s enduring dependence on Russia’s oil as a reason to move toward greener fuel sources.

‘I’ve had numerous conversations over the last few months with our European friends, of how they have to wean themselves off of Russian oil. It’s just not — it’s not tenable. It should motivate us to accelerate the transition to clean energy,’ the president explained.

‘This is a perspective examine our European allies share, and the future where together we can achieve greater independence. Loosening environmental regulations and pulling back clean energy investment won’t — let me explain — won’t, will not lower energy prices for families.

‘But transforming our economy to run on electric vehicles powered by clean energy with tax credits to help American families winterize their homes and use less energy — that will. That will help. And if we can, if we do what we can, it will mean that no one has to worry about price at the gas pump in the future.’

The European Union is aiming to cut its reliance on Russian gas by nearly 80 percent by the end of this year and the United Kingdom is expected to ban Russian oil. 

The United Kingdom’s ban on Russian oil imports will be phased-in gradually to avoid panic-buying. Politico reports that the blockade will not be extended to natural gas but the measure is still being discussed at Whitehall.  

It comes as Putin threatened to shut down Russia’s gas pipeline to Europe in response to a boycott on his country’s energy exports — which could push the price of crude oil to a staggering $300 a barrel.

Prices already shot up to a rate not seen since 2008 on Monday, reaching $140 per barrel.

The American Automobile Association’s (AAA) Chicago branch put out a warning about a ‘tightened supply’ of gas and outlined how Americans can ‘conserve’ their fuel as the market braces for another surge. 

Biden’s expected announcement comes as desperate Ukrainians have forced to flee their homes in freezing temperatures while being bombed, shot at and chased. Temperatures in Kyiv and Kharkiv, Ukraine’s two largest cities that have seen intense shelling, are set to fall to 14F on Tuesday night and will bring bitter conditions to civilians trying to stay warm and Putin’s soldiers trying to turn around his stalled invasion.  

White House press secretary Jen Psaki has resisted questions about whether the administration would ban Russian energy imports since the start of the invasion while Biden has warned that Putin’s invasion would likely come at a cost to Americans. 

The Democratic administration has also come under bipartisan criticism for looking at authoritarian countries like Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and even Iran as possible new sources to fill the 3.5 percent of crude oil exports the US gets from Russia.

US oil and gas companies are also pledging to help alleviate the strain. Exxon Mobil and Chevron, two of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers, said this week that they would ramp up crude oil production at sites in Texas and New Mexico, Politico reported.  

The AAA wrote on Twitter Monday, ‘The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, coupled with already high-demand and a tightened supply are pushing prices much higher at the pump. Here are some ways you can conserve on fuel.’

It was followed by a series of tips urging drivers to: combine errands, use their ‘more fuel-efficient vehicle,’ remove unnecessary or bulky items from the car and ‘fill up when you have a quarter tank of fuel remaining.’ 

Meanwhile prices at the pump have reached a nationwide average of $4.17, the highest ever recorded by AAA. The average gas price in California is a record-high $5.44, up from the previous all-time high of $5.34 that was reached on Monday.

Former President Donald Trump released a furious all-caps statement just an hour after reports of the expected Russian oil ban broke.

‘BREAKING NEWS: HIGHEST GAS PRICES IN HISTORY! DO YOU MISS ME YET?’ Trump said in a statement through his Save America PAC. 

But the US relies far less on Russian energy imports than Europe does.

Only about 7 percent of American liquid fuel imports were from Russia in 2020, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

But the US’ dependence on Russian crude oil and petroleum products significantly increased during Biden’s first year in office.  Imports of Moscow’s crude oil alone surged 162 percent. In 2020, the US imported 28 million barrels of Russian crude oil.  Now that number is up to 73 million barrels. 

However, the Energy Information Agency’s data show it still only accounts for about 3.5 percent of total US crude imports last year. 

By contrast sixty percent of Russia’s oil exports go to Europe, accounting for about a third of the continent’s oil demand.

Russia is the third largest exporter of crude oil and petroleum products to the US. America gets most of its oil and petroleum imports first from Canada, 51.3 percent.   

US officials appear to be looking for alternative energy sellers to make up for the modest gap left by the expected Russian ban.

An American delegation to Venezuela over the weekend saw some success when its President Nicolas Maduro said Monday that he would be open to further talks. It’s the first high-profile meeting of government officials between the US and oil-rich, authoritarian Venezuela in years. 

It was also reported recently that Biden may travel to Saudi Arabia to discuss the global oil supply, after vowing on the campaign trail to make the nation a ‘pariah’ state over its killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Kashoggi. 

The push for a nationwide ban on Russian energy imports has gained traction since accounts and images of Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine explode around the world.

More than seven in 10 Americans have said they would support a ban on Russian oil even if it meant higher gas prices, according to a new Quinnipiac poll released on Tuesday. 

The survey, taken March 4 through March 6, shows 71 percent of total respondents including a bipartisan majority would ban Biden’s ban. Of Republican voters, 66 percent said they would support it, and 82 percent of Democrats said they would as well.

Just 22 percent said they would be opposed. 

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted that Biden’s expected ban is ‘great’ but ‘late’ on the twelfth day of Putin’s invasion.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was ‘all for’ banning Russian oil imports. Congress is also set to pass a $10 billion aid package for Ukraine this week. 

Lawmakers in both the Senate and House have put forward a slew of legislation on such bans. Late last week a bipartisan group of senators put forward their own bill to ban Russian energy imports, which Congress is meant to fast-track.

The search for a new oil source is also putting renewed attention on the Iran nuclear deal talks, with the possibility of putting Tehran’s oil back on the market.  

However Republicans have been pushing for Biden to ramp up domestic energy production, as the president comes under bipartisan criticism for looking to authoritarian governments — who in some cases, are aligned with Russia — to fill American oil needs.

‘We shouldn’t be advancing other countries who don’t share our values,’ Montana Democratic Senator Jon Tester said, according to CNN. 

Graham said buying oil from somewhere like Venezuela or Iran was ‘insanity.’

‘If we seek to replace Russian oil by buying more oil from Venezuela and Iran, that would be the height of insanity,’ Graham wrote on Twitter Tuesday. ‘Trying to cut off oil dependency from a war criminal like Putin by replacing it with oil from a religious Nazi like the Ayatollah is stupid, dangerous, and tells you how much the Biden Administration is controlled by the radical Left.’

Texas Governor Greg Abbott called on Biden to increase output from the Lone Star state instead.

‘What happened to energy independence? Texas can do it,’ Abbott wrote on Twitter Tuesday. 

The Permian basin, a vast oil and natural gas producing area covering parts of Texas and New Mexico, will see more crude pumped by Chevron and Exxon Mobil. The plan was announced last year but has gained fresh urgency since Russia’s invasion.

West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin also called on Biden to ramp up US energy production, even in areas that had previously been shut.

‘Any oil thats needed to our allies around the world, we do that cleaner than anybody,’ Manchin said on CNN.

Former Vice President Mike Pence demanded Biden ‘unleash American energy’ and mocked him for sending a delegation to Venezuela during an interview on Fox News on Tuesday morning. 

‘The answer here is, number one, stand firm as the United States and have the free world join us, in cutting off funds to Russia in their energy exports. We need to put those sanctions on. But at the same moment, President Biden and this administration must unleash American energy and stop going hat-in-hand to places like Venezuela,’ Pence said. 

Some Republicans have been demanding Biden reopen the shut-down Keystone XL Pipeline — which the president’s allies and climate experts have said would have minimal effect solving the crisis but would gravely harm the environment. 

Last week South Carolina GOP Senator Tim Scott told Fox News in an interview that Biden’s decision to revoke the pipeline’s permit was ‘catastrophic.’

‘The prices we’re seeing today are reflective of his decisions a year ago, not reflective of the conflict that started days ago,’ Scott said.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, also floated as a possible 2024 GOP nominee, told the same outlet after Putin’s launched his attack that Biden gave him ‘all the power’ to do so by ending the pipeline.