WASHINGTON — President Biden said on Friday that the United States would join the European Union and other allies in depriving Russia of permanent normal trade ties and take other steps to isolate Vladimir V. Putin’s regime as Western countries slow down their efforts. to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
The measures, to be taken in consultation with the Group of 7 countries, would allow countries to raise tariffs on Russian goods and would deny Russia the ability to borrow money from multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Biden also said he planned to sign an executive order Friday that would ban certain imports from the Russian economy, including seafood, vodka and non-industrial diamonds. This would deprive Russia of more than $1 billion in export revenues, according to White House estimates.
The president also plans to ban U.S. exports of luxury items to Russia, including high-end watches, luxury vehicles, alcohol, jewelry and clothing, items worth about $550 million a year. The administration said the executive order would also give the president the power to ban new US investment in other sectors of the Russian economy, in addition to the existing ban on such investment in Russian energy.
In comments on Friday, Biden said withdrawing Russia’s permanent normal trading status “would make it more difficult for Russia to do business with the United States, and doing business with other countries that make up half of the world’s economy will be another matter.” crushing blow to the Russian economy.”
But trade experts said the economic impact of changing Russia’s trading status would be limited, especially compared to some of the sweeping sanctions the government has already announced. Russia was only the 20th largest supplier of goods to the United States in 2019.
Each country will follow its own domestic process to make this change, the government said. The European Union will have to consult with its member states. Canada announced last week that it would withdraw MFN tariffs for both Russia and Belarus, a close Russian ally.
Catie Edmondson contributed reporting.
