The House overwhelmingly passed legislation aimed at suspending normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus over Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on Thursday.
Its passage comes one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to Congress, in which he called on the United States to provide further assistance to aid in Ukraine’s efforts to fight back against Russian forces.
Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal and ranking member Kevin Brady, who led the efforts on the bill, said the legislation looks to inflict further economic hardship on the Russian economy and limit Russian President Vladimir Putin’s resources as he refuses to cease attacks.
“President Zelenskyy’s powerful remarks to Congress yesterday only strengthened our resolve to further isolate and weaken Putin. This legislation builds on last week’s energy import ban to inflict even greater economic pain on the Russian regime and its enablers,” Neal and Brady said in a statement.
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“We must do all we can to hold Putin accountable for senselessly attacking the Ukrainian people and undermining global stability,” they continued. “The suspension of normal trade relations is an essential part of our effort to restore peace, save lives, and defend democracy.”
In addition to revoking the countries’ normal trade status, the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act would provide President Joe Biden authorization to increase tariffs on the countries’ goods through 2024.
Under the legislation, the U.S. Trade Representative would be required “to use the voice and influence of the United States to seek suspension of Russia’s participation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and to halt Belarus’ WTO accession and accession-related work.”
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Cuba and North Korea are currently the only two other countries subjected to similar trade restrictions.
