U.S. Senators Introduce Legislation to Ban Russian Energy Imports

A group of 18 U.S. Senators on March 3 introduced legislation called the “Ban Russian Energy Imports Act” aimed to prohibit the import of Russian crude oil, petroleum, petroleum production, liquified natural gas and coal, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The bill would declare a national emergency with respect to Russian aggression and at once stop the importations of Russian energy products. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led the U.S. to take critical steps to impact Russian finances. The export ban is expected to cut off a section of key cash flow to Russia and possibly halt Russian hostility towards Ukraine, since Russian President Vladmir Putin is leveraging Russia’s oil revenue to fund his war.

The bipartisan effort, led by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee would:

• declare a national emergency with regards to the threat to U.S. national security, foreign policy and economy that exists as a result of Russian hostility against Ukraine and direct the President to ban imports of crude oil, petroleum, petroleum products, LNG and coal from Russia;
• allow the ban to remain in effect during the national emergency and allow either the President or Congress to reject the emergency and the import ban; and
• excuse products that are already loaded or in transit at the time of enactment.

Over 2021, the U.S. imported on average 670,000 oil barrels and petroleum products. The US also imported Russian LNG and coal, despite a vast domestic production due to the price competitiveness in the foreign market, according to the senators.  The reliance of Russian products on the US market has led a number of US Senators to become vocal about the U.S. becoming more energy independent. The crisis in Ukraine has raised concerns over whether the U.S. needs to increase its energy independence in order to strengthen national security.

The legislation has a dual goal of harming the Russian economy and initiated a conversation among policymakers with regards to increasing domestic energy production, so that the U.S. does rely on external sources for their energy needs.