US President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a ban on imports of Russian oil and gas into the United States. The American press is worried about the reaction of European countries and fears “a fracture in Western unity against Putin”.
US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that “Russian oil will no longer be accepted in United States ports”. “With this ban, the American people will deal another mighty blow to the Russian war machine,” he added.
Fact, “This decision represents one of the most ambitious moves by the United States against Moscow since the start of the war and could have serious geopolitical consequences as the price of oil has already skyrocketed since the invasion of Russia. Ukraine by Russia, creating considerable additional costs for businesses and consumers”, analyze it Los Angeles Times.
This embargo was only decided after heated debates within the American administration itself and between the United States and its Western allies, explain it Financial Times. “Joe Biden faced strong pressure from members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, to ban imports of Russian oil, but at first resisted in an attempt to secure supplies to global oil markets. energy and prevent oil prices from rising sharply in the United States.”
“Major consequences”
Alexander Novak, Russia’s deputy prime minister, warned on Monday that a ban could more than double oil prices to $300 a barrel from around $130 currently, the British business daily reports.
Russia currently produces around 11% of the world’s oil, or around 10.5 million barrels per day, the Los Angeles daily said. Even though Russian oil represents only 8% of American imports and 4% of the consumption of petroleum products in the United States, the repercussions of this embargo will be felt in the country. “Rising gasoline prices can affect many sectors of the economy. Airlines are increasing their prices, motorists are reducing their journeys and the prices of products delivered by road are also increasing, creating a new wave of inflationary pressures.
But an equivalent measure would have much heavier consequences for certain European countries, warns Politicowhich anticipates a “fracture in Western unity against Putin”. “Europe depends on Russia for 27% of its crude oil imports, 47% of its coal imports and 41% of its gas imports. And the continent is still haunted by the gas crises of 2006 and 2009, when it suffered supply disruptions from Russia.”
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For the American online daily, “it seems increasingly unlikely that the United States’ European allies will agree to sanction President Putin’s energy exports” because of the risks of galloping inflation and fear of reprisals which the Russians could exercise. “Novak has threatened to retaliate to Western sanctions by cutting off gas supplies to Germany. This would be a huge blow for the country: of the 93 billion cubic meters that Germany consumed in 2021, 60 billion were transported via the Nord Stream gas pipeline.
On Tuesday, just before the official announcement of the US embargo, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated that the United Kingdom was preparing to stop Russian oil imports at the end of 2022. “But the country is less dependent on Russian oil than much of continental Europe,” underlines the Financial Times : “Russian supplies represent only 8% of its total oil imports and 18% of diesel.”
For the member countries of the European Union, there is no doubt that the embargo decided by the United States and its possible repercussions will be at the heart of the Versailles summit which will begin on Thursday March 9 and which must in part be devoted to the energy crisis.
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