President Biden on Friday banned imports of Russian alcohol, diamonds and seafood, making other trades more onerous, before saying in response to a question that Russia would “pay a high price” for using chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Biden only mentioned the potential use of chemical weapons, which the White House warned about on Wednesday, when a reporter brought the subject up, and he completely avoided responding to heavy congressional pressure to help Ukraine acquire more fighter jets.
“The White House said that Russia could use chemical weapons or organize a false flag operation to use them,” the reporter shouted. “What evidence have you seen of this, and will the US respond militarily if [Russian President Vladimir] Is Putin attacking with chemical weapons?
Biden responded, “I won’t talk about intelligence, but Russia will pay dearly if they use chemical weapons.”
US President Joe Biden speaks about trade with Russia from Roosevelt’s White House room on Friday, March 11, 2022. AFP via Getty Images
The president did not elaborate on the sanctions for the chemical attack, but made it clear earlier in his speech that he would not send U.S. troops into Ukraine because “a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia is a third world war that we must strive to prevent.”
In addition to new bans on Russian alcohol, diamonds and seafood, Biden said he would strip Russia of its “most favored nation” trade status as the invasion of Ukraine enters its 16th day. This action will make it easier to impose tariffs on Russian goods that are not specifically banned.
On March 2, Canada revoked most-favoured-nation status for Russia and Belarus, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the US to take similar action in a speech to Congress over the weekend.
Get the latest updates in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict live on The Post.
The change in trade status marked the fourth time in the course of the war that Biden imposed sanctions in response to overwhelming bipartisan pressure.
Biden thanked Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (R-Calif.) for postponing a congressional vote on changing the status of “preferred nations” “until I can gather all of our key allies so that we remain in total unity” .
Biden on Tuesday announced a ban on imports of Russian oil, natural gas and coal – after Congress seemed poised to force him to do so. The president reportedly called Pelosi on Monday night to ask for a delay, but was denied.
Energy sanctions have cut about 60 percent of all America’s imports from Russia.
Biden initially announced limited sanctions against state-owned Russian banks and some Russian businessmen as the tanks crossed the Ukrainian border on Feb. 24. banking system.
On Friday, Biden said the European Union and members of the G-7, which includes Canada, Japan and the UK, would also help Russia make it harder to borrow money to force Putin to change course as his troops move to encircle Ukraine’s biggest cities.
Biden called the ban on Russian energy imports “another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine.”
“We are going to keep putting pressure on Putin. The G7 will seek to deprive Russia of the ability to borrow from leading multinational institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Putin is the aggressor. He is the aggressor and Putin must pay the price,” Biden said.
The president also said his administration is preparing to impose sanctions on wealthier Russians that will confiscate their assets and ban the export of luxury goods to Russia.
He declined to comment on his decision to veto Poland’s offer to donate 28 MiG-29 fighter jets to help Ukraine fend off a Russian invasion, leaving after answering just one question. On Thursday, forty Republican senators wrote to Biden urging him to reconsider his decision, with several Democrats also lashing out at the decision.
Biden reportedly called for a rejection of the MiG transfer, dismissing his Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who said Sunday that Poland had a “green light” to move forward.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday that “our military experts … assessed that the addition of aircraft to the armament is unlikely to significantly change the effectiveness of the Ukrainian Air Force compared to the capabilities of Russia.”
Psaki added: “The Ukrainian Air Force has several squadrons of fully operational aircraft, and although the capabilities of Russian aviation are significant, their effectiveness is limited due to Ukrainian strategic operational and tactical ground-based air defense systems – surface-to-air missiles and MANPADS. ”
But the decision sparked anger on Capitol Hill.
“The provision of these aircraft is bipartisan,” Sen. Zhanna Shaheen (D-NH) said at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday. “It is very unfortunate to see the reluctance on the part of the administration. It looks like indecision and bickering among members of the administration, which does not contribute to the cause.”
A destroyed shoe factory after an airstrike in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. EMRE CAYLAK/AFP via Getty Images
“Timing is of the essence,” said Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), chairman of the committee. “I understand why NATO and the US do not deal with the no-fly zone [in Ukraine]. It has potential [for] Direct conflict with Russia, but I don’t understand why we are not working on lightening the planes to Ukraine.”
When the Favored Nations trade policy change takes effect, buyers of Russian goods will pay at rates set by the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which disrupted trade during the Great Depression.
The status of a privileged nation requires that a country treat all countries with such status equally. Members of the World Trade Organization share this status, although some countries have special privileges due to their status as developing economies. North Korea and Cuba do not have this status.
With mail wires