President Joe Biden will announce Friday that, along with the European Union and the Group of Seven countries, the U.S. will move to revoke "most favored nation" trade status for Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Multiple sources familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have confirmed the plan.
The move marks the latest escalation of a push by the United States and its allies to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the largest war — which Russia calls a "special operation" — in Europe since World War II.
The sources say each country would have to follow its own national processes. Stripping Russia of what is commonly called most favored nation status would allow the U.S. and allies to impose tariffs on Russian imports, increasing the isolation of the Russian economy in retaliation for the invasion.
Removing Russia's status of "permanent normal trade relations" will require an act of Congress, said one senior administration official. But lawmakers in both houses of Congress have expressed support for such a move.
Biden's move comes as bipartisan pressure has been building in Washington to revoke the status.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed the U.S. and allies to take the action against Russia in remarks to Congress over the weekend. It follows days after the Biden moved to ban imports of Russian oil and gas products.
Unprecedented, sweeping sanctions slapped on Russia's banks and elites, along with export controls on a raft of technologies, have already caused the Russian economy to crater, and the International Monetary Fund is now predicting that it will plunge into a "deep recession" this year.
In 2019, Russia was the 26th largest goods trading partner of the United States, with some $28 billion exchanged between the two countries, according to the U.S. Trade Representative's office.
Some U.S. governors have already ordered government-run liquor stores to stop selling Russian-made vodka and distilled spirits in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
Top imports from Russia included mineral fuels, precious metal and stone, iron and steel, fertilizers and inorganic chemicals, all goods that could face higher tariffs once Congress acts to revoke Russia's favored nation trade status.
Biden, after initially slow-walking congressional efforts to take the trade action against Russia, was set to embrace lawmaker efforts to do just that on Friday.
The White House said Biden would speak at 10:15 a.m. ET Friday to announce "actions to continue to hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked and unjustified war on Ukraine."
On Monday, Democrats on the powerful House Ways & Means Committee posted, then removed, an announcement on a bipartisan bill to ban Russian oil imports and slap further trade sanctions on the country, according to an aide, because of pushback from the White House against acting before Biden had coordinated with allies and reached a decision on both matters. The House voted Wednesday on a narrower bill to ban Russian energy imports after Biden instituted the ban by executive order.
Canada was the first major U.S. ally to remove most favored nation status for Russia last week.
Biden's action was first reported by Bloomberg News.
This report contains material from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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