Gas prices are already reaching record highs for Americans filling their tanks, the list of U.S. officials wanting the country to ban Russian oil and gas imports is growing, even though it could increase prices further.
Among those calling for a ban include Senators Marco Rubio and Joe Manchin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Representative Adam Schiff.
The effort to block Russian oil and gas imports was introduced through a bill proposed by Manchin and Senator Lisa Murkowski last week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi even shared her support of a ban, the Associated Press reported.
While speaking with CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Blinken shared that the U.S. is discussing all possibilities with its allies.
“We are now talking to our European partners and allies to look in a coordinated way at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil while making sure that there is still an appropriate supply of oil on world markets,” Blinken said. “That’s a very active discussion as we speak.”
Senator Rubio has been active on Twitter throughout the invasion of Ukraine, sharing his thoughts on the situation and how he thinks the U.S. should respond.
Today was no different as he tweeted that the U.S. should divert efforts to produce its own fossil fuels instead of using Russia’s.
The White House played down any possibility of blocking imports from Russia on Thursday. White House press secretary Jen Psaki shared that the Biden administration is attempting to have actions taken against Russia not impact Americans.
“Our objective and the president’s objective has been to maximize impact on President Putin and Russia while minimizing impact to us and our allies and partners,” Psaki told reporters. “We don’t have a strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy.”
But, the tone changed on Friday when Psaki said the administration is “looking at options we could take right now to cut U.S. consumption of Russian energy.”
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On Sunday, U.S. oil futures rose to over $125 a barrel, with traders worried about what would happen globally if there was a ban placed on Russian oil.
Manchin continued his support for action on Sunday when he spoke on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” saying he has the backing of his state.
“The people in my state of West Virginia believe it’s basically foolish for us to keep buying products and giving profit and giving money to Putin to be able to use against the Ukrainian people,” Manchin said.
Russia is the world’s third-largest energy producer, and the sector brought in a reported $63 billion from international oil and gas sales in the third quarter of 2021, Fortune reported. This makes the industry critical to the Russian economy.
While the U.S. is attempting to stop Russia’s attack on Ukraine, there is a fine line between punishing the nation and causing a rise in gas prices.
A ban on Russian energy, though it only makes up 10% of the U.S.’s imports, could create a global blockage that would, in turn, drive up gas prices domestically even further, the Washington Post reported
According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas is currently at $4, up 40 cents from a week ago. This is the first time that the U.S. has seen those numbers since the 2008 financial crisis.
While 60 million barrels of oil have been released from strategic reserves worldwide, following a meeting between world leaders last week, U.S. lawmakers still want the nation to tap into energy reserves at home.
Manchin shared that the U.S. has the “ability to ratchet up and be able to backfill. We have the energy, we have the resources here. And we have the technology.”
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