Biden is ‘set to announce a ban on imports of Russian oil, natural gas and coal as soon as TODAY’
BREAKING NEWS: Biden will ban imports of Russian oil, natural gas after relentless pressure: Gas prices set to go HIGHER than the record $4.16 a gallon as Putin warns barrels will reach $300 and Americans are urged to conserve fuel
The energy import ban will be levied by the US alone without European alliesDomestic gas prices have skyrocketed since Russia invaded Ukraine in late FebUnited States relies relatively little on Russian energy compared to Europe
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
(function (src, d, tag){
var s = d.createElement(tag), prev = d.getElementsByTagName(tag)[0];
s.src = src;
prev.parentNode.insertBefore(s, prev);
}(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/1.17.0/async_bundle–.js”, document, “script”));
<!–
DM.loadCSS(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/gunther-2159/video_bundle–.css”);
<!–
President Joe Biden will announce a ban on Russian energy on Tuesday following relentless pressure from Republican and Democratic lawmakers in a move that could send gas prices even higher.
Calls to act have mounted since late last month when Russia’s authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin ordered an unprovoked and bloody invasion of Ukraine.
European allies, who rely far more on the Kremlin’s energy exports, are reportedly not joining the ban but were consulted by US officials, Bloomberg first reported.
The president is expected to address the nation on measures ‘to continue to hold Russia accountable’ at 10:45 a.m. Eastern Time at the White House.
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.
Above shows a chart for US crude oil imports, which excludes other petroleum products
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.
‘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,’ the AAA wrote on Twitter Monday.
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.’
However, 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.
An elderly woman placed in a shopping cart is carried over a destroyed bridge as she is evacuated from the city of Irpin,
The US has been under pressure to ban Russian energy imports since Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine
Ukrainian soldiers help an elderly woman to cross a destroyed bridge as she evacuates the city of Irpin, northwest of Kyiv, on March 8
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.
Following Canada is Mexico, 8.4 percent, then Russia, 7.9 percent, then Saudi Arabia, 5.1 percent, according to 2021 statistics from the Energy Information Agency.
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.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a Sunday letter that her chamber was looking at legislation to ban 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.
A Reuters poll taken Friday shows a broad 80 percent swath of Americans support banning Russian oil imports over the atrocities in Ukraine.
