Some of the measures announced by the U.S. Treasury Department on Friday will be signed into law, meaning the incoming Trump administration will need to get Congress involved if it wants to reverse them.
Washington is also seeking to severely limit who can legally buy Russian energy, and is pursuing what it has called Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of vessels that deliver oil around the world.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the actions “increase the sanctions risk associated with the trade in oil from Russia, including facilitating the supply and financing of Russian oil exports.”
President Joe Biden said Russian leader Vladimir Putin was in “serious shape,” adding that it was “very important that he has no respite to continue to do the terrible things that he continues to do.”
“It’s quite likely that gas prices (in the United States) could go up to three or four cents a gallon,” the president said.
But, he added, these measures are likely to “have a serious impact on the growth of the Russian economy.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the US for what he called “bipartisan support.”
With the beginning of the war in Ukraine, cap on oil prices was one of the main measures aimed at limiting the Russian export of energy carriers.
But, as explained by Olga Khakova from the Global Energy Center of the Atlantic Council, his efficiency was “diluted”, external because he was also trying to avoid a fall in the volume of Russian oil on the market.
This was due to concerns about the impact of supply cuts on the global economy.
But experts say the oil market is now in a healthier position.
“U.S. oil production (and exports) are at record levels and rising, so the impact on prices of Russian oil being taken out of the market, the target of today’s sanctions, will be mitigated,” said Daniel Fried, a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. .
“The US government has gone after the Russian oil sector in a broad sense, intending to deliver what could be a major blow,” Fried added.
John Herbst, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, said the steps are “great” but their implementation will be crucial.
“This means that the Trump administration will determine whether these measures really put pressure on the Russian economy,” he said.
