Still in force on Tuesday
US impose import ban on Russian oil
03/08/2022, 2:55 p.m
According to media reports, the United States will decide to import Russian oil on Tuesday. It would be a further expansion of sanctions after the attack on Ukraine. The federal government, on the other hand, still rejects such a step. Minister Habeck justified this at ntv.
According to an insider, the US will ban imports of oil from Russia. A corresponding announcement could still be made on Tuesday, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a person familiar with the considerations. The Bloomberg agency had previously reported on the import ban. The White House announced a statement by President Joe Biden on punitive measures against Russia for 10:45 a.m. (local time, 4:45 p.m. CET).
So far, oil and gas exports have been exempt from Western sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. However, should it come to that, experts fear an energy crisis in Europe, since other countries would not be able to absorb the losses. The US is much more independent of Russian energy supplies.
Germany is currently rejecting an import ban on Russian gas and oil. Such an embargo could trigger “permanently high price fixing” for fossil fuels beyond the current price jumps, said Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck from the Greens in “ntv Frühstart”. It’s not just about the personal concern of the citizens and the question of whether they sometimes cycle to work. “We will then talk about a serious economic crisis in Germany and thus in Europe.”
According to Habeck, not everyone is aware of the scope of possible sanctions. “Of course you can do that, but you have to be aware of the price you’re paying. And it seems to me that some people don’t realize that.”
Because of the risk of an energy crisis as a result of the war in Ukraine, oil prices are rising sharply. The Brent variety from the North Sea was more expensive than it had been for over 13 years. Chancellor Olaf Scholz from the SPD has announced that if necessary, further measures will be taken if energy prices rise too much.