President Joe Biden has announced that the United States would suspend normal trade relations with Russia, in just the latest coordinated move with G7 and EU nations to punish Moscow for its military aggression in Ukraine.
The move would allow for the imposition of tariffs on Russian exports including seafood, vodka and diamonds – in the latest crushing blow to the flailing Russian economy.
“Each of our nations is going to take steps to deny most favored nation status to Russia. A most favored nation status designation means two countries have agreed to trade with each other under the best possible terms low tariffs, a few barriers of trade, and the highest possible imports allowed in the United States. We call this permanent normal trade relations PNTR. But it’s the same thing. Revoking PNTR for Russia is going to make it harder for Russia to do business with the United States. And doing it in unison with other nations that make up half of the global economy will be another crushing blow to the Russian economy – it’s already suffering very badly from our sanctions.”
Biden also announced that the G7 would seek to deny Russia’s ability to borrow from leading multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
“Putin is an aggressor. He is the aggressor. And Putin must pay the price. He cannot pursue a war that threatens the very foundations which he’s doing, the very foundations of international peace and stability, and then ask for financial help from the international community. We’re going to continue to stand together with our allies in Europe and send an unmistakable message – we’ll defend every single inch of NATO’s territory with the full weight of the united and galvanized NATO. We will not fight a war against Russia in Ukraine. Direct confrontation between NATO and Russia is World War Three, something we must strive to prevent.”
Russia-Ukraine | UN Security Council to convene at Russia’s request
The Ukrainian Ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, has highlighted the negative economic impact that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will have across the globe. International oil prices have fluctuated in recent weeks – as Russia is the world’s second top producer of crude oil after Saudi Arabia. Abravitova addressed the media in Cape Town, alongside DA leader John Steenhuisen.
“The war of Russia against Ukraine is a global issue now and you will see differently how it will affect, not only Europe, but the whole world. Unfortunately, the most vulnerable will be the poor people. The poor will become poorer. You will see the food security track, a huge humanitarian crisis and an environmental catastrophe.”
