In a Friday speech, in stark contrast to the stance that Trump has taken towards the Russian leader, President Joe Biden once again went directly after Russian President Vladimir Putin over his ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russian military operations there have already claimed the lives of thousands of civilians — including an estimated roughly 1,300 in one city, Mariupol, alone — and inflicted catastrophic levels of damage on the country’s infrastructure, making living there and returning to some form of security after the eventual conclusion of the war even more difficult. Biden used his Friday speech to outline fresh economic counter-measures that the U.S. and its allies would be taking against Putin’s regime, including an ending of Russia’s designation within the U.S. allowing for relatively free trade between the two countries. President Biden commented as follows:
‘As Putin continues his merciless assault, the United States and our allies and partners continue to work in lock-step to ramp up the economic pressures on Putin and to further isolate Russia on the global stage… 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, few barriers to trade, and the highest-possible imports allowed… Revoking [that status] 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.’
⚡️US, EU, G7 to strip Russia of favored trade status.
U.S. President Joe Biden has stated that the U.S., the EU and G7 will strip Russia of its permanent normal trade status, allowing the countries to raise tariffs on Russian goods.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 11, 2022
Biden indicated that NATO allies, members of the G7 group of nations, and the European Union would be taking these steps. Biden added that “many issues divide us in Washington, but standing for democracy in Ukraine, pushing [back against] Russia’s aggression should not be one of those issues. The free world is coming together to confront Putin. Our two parties here at home are leading the way… Putin is an aggressor. He is the aggressor. And Putin must pay the price. He cannot pursue a war that threatens the very foundations of international peace and stability and then ask for financial help from the international community.” The Biden administration is also banning imports of Russian seafood, vodka, and diamonds, broadening the range of imports from Russia that are subject to newly announced bans in the U.S. Recently, it was energy from the country that got the boot after Russian exports in that sector were initially shielded from the brunt of sanctions amid global price worries. Check out Biden’s remarks below:
Ahead of the president’s remarks, both chambers of Congress approved $13.6 billion in new military and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine; the money was included in an overall government spending package meant to — rhetorically speaking — keep the federal government’s lights on through the rest of the fiscal year. As Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) explained the Ukraine aid, “We’re giving the Ukrainians billions for food, medicine, shelter, and support for the over two million refugees who have had to leave Ukraine, as well as funding for weapons transfers like Javelins and Stingers.”
⚡️Biden warns Russia will pay a 'severe price' if it uses chemical weapons in Ukraine.
The U.S. president refused to divulge specific information about the intelligence he had received, following a question from a White House reporter.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 11, 2022
