On Friday, President Biden announced that the US will downgrade Russia’s trade status and ban more Russian imports, including vodka, seafood, and diamonds.
The move, which requires legislation from Congress, would revoke Russia’s status as a “most-favored nation.” The change paves the way for the US to be able to put high tariffs on Russian goods and implement other trade barriers.
Biden said the US was taking the step along with its NATO, G7, and EU allies. “Doing it in unison with other nations that make up half of the global economy will be another crushing blow to the Russian economy that’s already suffering very badly from our sanctions,” he said.
“We’re also taking a further step of banning imports of goods from several signature sectors of the Russian economy, including seafoods, vodka, and diamonds,” Biden added.
According to The Wall Street Journal, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has said Congress will introduce a piece of legislation next week to change Russia’s trade status. The bill is expected to pass since there is a bipartisan consensus in Washington to further sanction Russia even though the measures are also hurting Americans, who are facing record-high gas prices and inflation.
While the Western sanctions have done nothing to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, they have taken a toll on Russia’s economy, and ordinary Russians are feeling the pain. Biden boasted of the damage the sanctions have done to Russia’s economy.
“The totality of our sanctions and export controls is crushing the Russian economy,” Biden said. “The ruble has lost more than half its value. They tell me it takes about 200 rubles to equal 1 dollar these days. The Moscow stock exchange has been closed for fully — for two weeks because they know the moment it opens, it will probably collapse,” he said.
Biden’s not “crushing” squat. And Russia has yet to unveil the full range of their sanctions against the West – of which they have many options. In fact, over at MoA there’s been a discussion of why is Russia “waiting” to impose them. Some suggest Putin first must go to the Duma for the necessary laws, and second because he’s waiting for the Ukraine operation to wrap up, thus making a fait accompli and being able to offer the West an out if they want it before lowering the boom. In fact, one article I saw suggested Russia is actually being somewhat “nonchalant” about the US sanctions so far. In short, they’re not working and they’re not an “existential threat” to Russia – although Russia is treating them as if the US were intending an “existential threat”.
Russia isn’t ” waiting” to impose any sanctions because theres not much they can do unless its an act of self harm like cutting off gas
Well the European have a plan to do just that,and within the next 2 years the oil and gas market for Russia will be finished in Europe
All these sanctions show is that the people imposing them and the people favoring them are totally clueless about economics and about human nature. The sanctions will only draw the Russian people and their leaders closer together. The best way to incentivize authoritarian regimes to reform themselves is to peacefully engage their leaders and their people. There is no better way to do that than through free trade. We all benefit from free trade.
I wonder at which point Russia will convert the soft damages on their economy into kinetic damage.
The illuminatti in Chief gloats about the damage he has inflicted thinking he is dealing with Cuba.
Russian Vodka?! There are some things I can tolerate, banning Russian caviar for example but…. Not Russian Vodka!
Don’t forget the Russian cats, Donna😉😺
Stolichnaya is my go-to, but it’s not Russian- or Soviet- any longer. Russian Standard is my #2 choice, but I hardly think I’ll die without it as a backup intoxicant. Diamonds? LOL
I’m one of the rare Amerikkkan women who doesn’t own a single diamond.
Diamond bracelet for my birthday? Hell no, I wanted a pole chainsaw, which I received 😉
My respect for you just increased. Never understood any kind of jewelry. What a total waste of money.
WRU:
Jewelry is nice and there’s all kinds but diamonds just don’t connect with some people and I am one of those people!
Same here, Donna. My kind of jewelry is Native American-made turquoise and silver, of which I admittedly have quite a bit, having inherited my late sister-in-law’s collection.
Diamonds look like nothing more than glass to me.
Wars, if I wore no jewelry, I’d be going about with empty holes in my ears 😐 My ears have been pierced since I was a very small child as befits my culture
I do not own any diamonds either. When I got married, I never wore my diamond wedding ring. I gave it back to my ex-husband, with pure joy, during our divorce…:-)
Try some American pot. Much better than alcohol. Plus, you never want to kick the shit out of anyone.
You raise a good point there WRU, a good point…
Since it’s legal to grow here Wars, we’re trying out some different varieties this year. Looking forward to trying “Strawberry Blue”!
Haven’t heard of that strain. I do love the names. “Girl Scout Cookies”, “Trainwreck”, “Gorilla Glue”, “Lemon Skunk” to name a few. Been growing since ’04. Thankfully I didn’t get caught before we became a medical state in ’09. I only grew for personal use, but my electric bill went up so much I was paranoid the Feds would be kicking down my door. Can’t have people feeling euphoric after all.
Wars, it’s a strain that supposedly gives one energy. I’ll take some of that!
We have five very private acres and luckily can grow outdoors; it’s just required to have a fence around it.
You get a much bigger yield outdoors, but I like the control in growing indoors. I use Coco as my growing medium so I have to supply all the nutes. It gets interesting.
Omg Wars, yes…our plants are like trees 😳
Biden boasted of the damage the sanctions have done to Russia’s economy.
Cruelty and punishment are the weapons of despicable people. To think that Biden is a father (OK, perhaps that should not be mentioned) bent on punishing a whole country, far more cultured and civilised than his violent, fighting, drug ridden Homeland, for not obeying his illegal edicts.
Of interest to me is the actions of the world against Russia, when this was a war foretold. For 30 years, action after action by the us and NATO headed to this intersection in history. Russia sees Ukraine as the last piece of the game of Risk that has been played since Bill Clinton began the Eastward movement of NATO members (new), right to the border of Russia. Ukraine is the last piece, and things were foretold with the coup in Ukraine in 2014 (with Biden being the centerpiece to check off all of the boxes, which Putin is well award of). Russia saw the coup as a danger to their sphere of influence, and the possible loss of their only warm-water port in Crimea. Biden could have been a hero, a peace maker, sitting down with Zelensky and Putin to hammer out agreements that would have prevented the calamity before us and the Ukraine people. He didn’t and in my view solidified his place in history as just another war monger, anxious to deal with Russia, the country that went through the greatest bloodless revolution 30 years ago last December. Russia’s reward? George W. pulls out of the ABM treaty. Clinton furthers NATO East, abrogating an agreement (that has been unearthed in previously classified archives in the U.S. and Germany), ignoring the advice of statesmen, such as George Kennan, and even the letter from the granddaughter of Dwight Eisenhower. Trump? No better. He pulled out of the INF treaty. Yes, it was a war foretold.
We’ll just have to get through the day without Russian vodka and diamonds, Biden suggests. Vodka is labeled, with most vodka being non-Russian, but diamonds aren’t so who cares about that.
Next will come the tariffs on Russian goods, which will increase prices and contribute to inflation, similar to Trump’s tariffs on China goods which also hurt U.S. employment. But won’t the cheaper ruble out-balance any tariffs?
Ah, it’s a great nation with over half a million people homeless and our president chattering about vodka and diamonds.
Your last sentence: Excellent point. Demonstrates again how the elites don’t care about the entire US population.
Forgive me for saying this but… Is Joe Biden a fricking idiot?!!!
If we’re not careful, he’ll start a nuclear war…
Donna, the answer to your question is…well, YES.
And in more ways than this one.
When Russians are threatened, they- like most people- tend to circle the wagons and make the best of a bad situation. They are a tough people- far tougher than the soy-triple-latte denizens that make up a great portion of America. Our own ‘tough generations’ are older and grayer and we’re creating an enemy we really don’t want to tangle with. The Russians will double down on hardening their economy and become more self-sufficient. Imagine what would happen if they decided not to export wheat for just one year. Imagine if they decided not to export oil for just one year. My guess is they’d come through the loss of national income in far better shape than many other countries, including the US. We don’t have a Leningrad or Stalingrad in our history, but you can bet those lessons haven’t been lost on the Russians as a people. Better mend fences while you can, Washington.
We haven’t ended our trade war with China and here we are starting a another trade war with Russia. All while 40 year high inflation continues. I just love paying more tariffs on everything…
That’s cute, the damage is done, what makes them think any of these sanctions are going to deter what’s already been done? Seriously, the game is chess not checkers.
What really could be worse? Poor Mr Putin must really be in tears, after his misjudged campaign, his huge losses, his lack of contact with any world leaders………..