Joe Biden to sign bill to revoke normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus

In another attempt to deter Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, a proactive United States has now decided to sanction bills that scrap Russia, Belarus' trade status. US President Joe Biden is set to sign legislation to revoke normal trade relations with both nations, given their common intention to invade the Volodymyr Zelenskyy-led country. Further, the latest sanction will also terminate Russian oil imports to Washington exhaustively. 

"This (breaking trade ties with Russia & Belarus) is something the President supports, had called for, and certainly plans to sign it," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a press briefing.

Notably, this comes after the US Senate, on April 7, passed legislation to suspend Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status with Russia and Belarus amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. The Senate passed HR 7108, the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with the Russia and Belarus Act, in a 100-0 vote. 

How will US sanctions impact Russia?

The suspension of PNTR status allows the Biden-led administration to increase tariffs on their imports above the standard levels as indicated by the intergovernmental body World Trade Organisation (WTO). During the press briefing, the US official also laid out details of the Pentagon's military assistance to the war-ravaged country. She mentioned the US has, so far, provided USD 1.7 billion worth of weapons and security aid to Zelenskyy's forces, since the inception of the war on February 24, 2022.

"As of now, we have provided 1.7 billion dollars of weapons of security assistance to Ukraine. We have not stopped, nor we are stopping providing additional military assistance to Ukraine," Jen Psaki affirmed. 

Joe Biden vouches to continue providing security assistance to Zelenskyy

Pentagon confirmed that the security aid it has been consigning to Ukraine is further enabling critical success on the battlefield to prevent the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The US Defence Department says Washington is working around the clock to realise Ukraine's defensive goals and prioritise its security assistance requests. 

"The Administration is continuing the work with allies and partners to identify additional weapons systems to help the Ukrainian military defend its country," a White House press release stated. 

"This includes helping Ukraine acquire longer-range anti-aircraft systems and munitions that they are trained to use. More than 30 nations have sent Ukraine security assistance, thanks in part to our diplomacy," it added.