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Until Joe Biden Lets U.S. Oil and Gas Freely Flow, He’s Complicit In Putin’s War Crimes
The Federalist ^ | 03/04/2022 | Helen Raleigh

Posted on 03/04/2022 7:56:00 AM PST by SeekAndFind

Not sanctioning Russia’s energy sector neutralizes other western sanctions and damages the credibility of the U.S. and our European allies.

As Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, the United States and western allies have imposed a new round of economic sanctions. But these won’t achieve the desired effect as long as there is a carve-out for Russia’s energy sector. 

Last week, the United States imposed sanctions on four large Russian banks and restricted certain Russian state-owned enterprises from raising money in international markets. On Monday, the U.S., the European Union, and the United Kingdom took an extraordinary step to sanction Russia’s central bank, the Bank of Russia, preventing it from moving assets it held abroad to stabilize Russia’s economy, or “using other government and private banks to manage central bank operations.” Additionally, the U.S. Department of Treasury prohibited Americans from doing business with Russia’s central bank, finance ministry, and Russia’s sovereign wealth fund. No country’s central bank had ever been sanctioned like this before. According to officials from the Biden administration, these latest sanctions targeting Russia’s banking and financial systems represent the West’s “biggest sanctions campaigns in the past half-century.”

Consequently, the Russian ruble tumbled more than 20 percent. At the market close on Monday, one ruble was worth less than 1 cent. The ruble’s devaluation will negatively affect Russia’s economy in many ways. It will worsen the country’s already high inflation (Russia’s inflation rate was 8.7 percent in January 2022), lower the living standard, and make it hard for Russian companies to raise capital for existing business operations or future expansion.

The ruble’s devaluation also hurts consumer confidence and may even cause a run on the bank. Nervous Russians reportedly lined up outside of banks and ATMs to get their money out, a scene the country hadn’t seen since the fall of the former Soviet Union in 1989. 

In response, the Bank of Russia was forced to raise the interest rate from 9.5 percent to 20 percent and close the country’s stock market for this week. The central bank also ordered Russian companies to sell 80 percent of their foreign-currency revenue. The move was designed to stop the ruble from falling further by creating artificial supply-demand and giving the central bank access to foreign currencies such as U.S. dollars. The ruble bounced back some the next day due to these measures. As of Tuesday morning, one ruble was worth 8.6 cents.  

Energy Sector Exempt

No doubt, the latest round of western sanctions has caused some damage to Russia’s economy. But they are not as effective as they could have been because Russia’s energy sector is exempted. Russia’s energy companies continue to export oil and gas worldwide, making phenomenal profit due to skyrocketing energy prices, and evade sanctions by bringing badly needed foreign currencies back to Russia. 

The energy sector plays the most vital role in Russia’s economy, which is about the size of South Korea’s. Russia’s energy sector accounts for 14 percent of the country’s GDP. The country is the world’s largest natural-gas exporter and one of the main oil suppliers. Revenue from the energy sector has helped Russia accumulate $630 billion in foreign exchange reserves in recent years and contributed to more than 40 percent of the country’s federal budget.

A study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a think tank based in Germany, shows that an “embargo on gas would drag Russia’s GDP down by nearly 3 percent and halting imports and exports of crude oil would result in a slump of more than 1 percent.” However, by leaving Russia’s energy sector alone, current western sanctions may knock out Russia’s GDP by only 1 percent.

Justifying the Exemption

President Biden defended the carve-out of Russian energy from sanctions as necessary “to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump.” Under his watch, gas prices have skyrocketed 60 percent, and the United States has doubled the amount of crude oil imports from Russia last year.

Although imports from Russia account for only 3 percent of overall U.S. crude oil imports in 2021, the United States is on track to become more dependent on Russia’s oil as President Biden doubles down on his war on the U.S. energy industry to advance “green energy.”

President Biden said another reason for exempting Russia’s energy sector from sanctions is to maintain the economic stability of our European allies, which are far more exposed to Russia’s energy industry due to their ongoing crusade against fossil fuels. About 30 percent of the European Union’s gas imports and 35 percent of its oil imports come from Russia. 

Germany, the largest economy in the European Union, is even more vulnerable — 36 percent of its natural gas imports and close to 40 percent of its oil imports come from Russia. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project to show solidarity with allies. But Germany’s move is mainly symbolic because it continues to import gas from Russia via the existing pipeline that runs through Ukraine.

Germany is also on track to phase out coal as soon as 2030 and will not extend the life of its three remaining nuclear power plants. Without Russia’s energy supply, some estimate the EU’s reserves would only allow its member nations, including Germany, to survive for three months. 

Green Energy Puts Us in Weak Position

Ironically, the United States and European Union’s war on fossil fuel in their own backyard has forced them to rely on energy supplies from an adversary. Not sanctioning Russia’s energy sector neutralizes western sanctions and damages the credibility of the United States and our European allies.

How can Putin take us seriously when he gets a slap on the wrist on one hand but receives handsome payment on the other hand because we cannot live without his energy supply? How can leaders in the United States and the European Union sleep at night, knowing that Putin uses every cent we pay for every drop of oil from Russia to finance his war crimes against humanity?

As a Wall Street Journal editorial points out, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a 3 a.m. wake-up call to President Biden and America’s liberal political class: Cease your war on U.S. energy. Europe’s climate obsessions have rendered it vulnerable to Putin’s extortion, and the U.S. is in danger of repeating that tragic mistake.”

Suppose the United States and European uinon are serious about stopping Putin from committing more atrocities and ending the war on Ukraine. In that case, they must start sanctioning Russia’s energy sector immediately and hurt Putin where it hurts the most.

To alleviate economic pain back home, both the United States and the EU must halt their war on fossil fuel and free energy from ruinous policies. Without taking these steps, sanctions will not be effective, Putin has no incentive to change his behaviors, the Ukrainians will continue to suffer, and the United States and the EU look like nothing but hypocrites.         



TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; Russia
KEYWORDS: biden; bideneffect; energy; oil; putin
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1 posted on 03/04/2022 7:56:00 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind
Until Joe Biden Lets U.S. Oil and Gas Freely Flow and Blocks All Russian Oil Imports, He’s Complicit In Putin’s War Crimes
2 posted on 03/04/2022 7:58:02 AM PST by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: SeekAndFind

100%

The pig is the cause of this crisis.

He owns it lock stock and barrel.


3 posted on 03/04/2022 8:00:03 AM PST by crz
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To: SeekAndFind

People need to start asking exactly how the fed gov has this authority. The constitution is pretty clear about what land the fedguv is allowed to control, and they act like they control a lot more than what it allows.


4 posted on 03/04/2022 8:01:17 AM PST by curious7
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To: SeekAndFind

Zactly...now let’s ask about the Euro Med pipeline Biden shut down.


5 posted on 03/04/2022 8:01:54 AM PST by rrrod (6)
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To: crz

Correcto!


6 posted on 03/04/2022 8:02:23 AM PST by rrrod (6)
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To: SeekAndFind

The brandon and Democrat talking point of the day is Russian oil is only 7% of US imports.

You’ll be hearing that a lot now.


7 posted on 03/04/2022 8:03:03 AM PST by V_TWIN (America...so great even the people that hate it refuse to leave)
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To: SeekAndFind

Filled my tank yesterday. Bought a lot of bullets for Biden’s Russki friends.


8 posted on 03/04/2022 8:05:25 AM PST by FlingWingFlyer ("You may all go to hell and I will go to Texas." - Col. David Crockett to the U.S. Congress.)
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To: SeekAndFind

It is entirely possible that the adverse economic consequences of the limited sanctions are more than paid for by 50 to 100% increases in the price of oil.

Biden and his greenies are absolutely in on the war crimes.

There are sitting with Russian diplomats in Vienna as we type here making an even better nuclear deal so Iran can have nuclear weapons.


9 posted on 03/04/2022 8:15:44 AM PST by lonestar67 (America is exceptional)
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To: SeekAndFind

BTTT BTTT


10 posted on 03/04/2022 8:17:54 AM PST by linMcHlp
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To: SeekAndFind
Biden is complicit in crimes against America. It begins with a stolen election and everything single thing he has done since has been illegitimate and illegal, yes a crime. That is what matters. While I feel sorry for Ukraine, they is not our problem. What Biden and his globalist allies are doing is not only affecting Russians and Ukrainians, it is affecting common everyday people in Europe and America.

All of the actions Biden is taking has not been debated in congress, has not been voted upon and should not be allowed going forward. Warfare is no longer just kinetic. It includes cyber, information, and economic/monetary warfare. The US and Europe is attacking Russia by non-traditional means. Russia will be responding with non-traditional means - 21st century warfare. That is not waged on a battlefield between armed combatants. The battlefield extends to citizen's homes, grocery stores, and gas pumps. Do you remember when supposed Russians launched a cyberattack on a US pipeline? That affected ordinary citizens. What happens when a cyberattack occurs on the electric grid? Ordinary citizens will be sent into the dark. Communications will be shutdown. Ordinary citizens will die.

Seems to me if we continue to use non-kinetic, 21st century warfare against Russians that we will see the same type of response. All of this is debated or voted upon in Congress. All of this is done through establishment globalist bureaucrats that were never voted into office. That includes Biden. He is not the legitimate president. He is using powers without the consent of the people.

11 posted on 03/04/2022 8:18:35 AM PST by ConservativeInPA (Scratch a leftist and you'll find a fascist )
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To: SeekAndFind

Biden’s energy policies are strengthening Putin and hurting American workers and consumers. This is a powerful line of attack for the midterms.


12 posted on 03/04/2022 8:28:09 AM PST by nbenyo
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To: SeekAndFind

Biden is a traitor to our country; a Russian agent.


13 posted on 03/04/2022 8:33:26 AM PST by SkyDancer ( I make airplanes fly, what's your super power?)
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To: SeekAndFind

How many crimes hasn’t he committed ?.


14 posted on 03/04/2022 9:22:46 AM PST by Vaduz ( )
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To: SeekAndFind

Biden has been complacent with Putin since before the election as we know now. The last thing Putin wanted was Trump in the White House again.


15 posted on 03/04/2022 9:41:29 AM PST by rrrod (6)
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To: V_TWIN
The brandon and Democrat talking point of the day is Russian oil is only 7% of US imports.

ALL OF WHICH could easily be made up and more, by simply turning on the spigots in the Dakota's.

And yet, here we are.

How much is Biden profiting off all this chaos he's created?

16 posted on 03/04/2022 9:52:21 AM PST by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: SeekAndFind

I would suggest the first two articles of impeachment come next February should be:

1. Aiding and abetting an enemy by purchasing oil from Russia and soon Iran while intentionally refusing to utilize domestic production. That is known as Treason for short.

2. Refusing to protect our southern border. Failure to protect and defend the Constitution.


17 posted on 03/04/2022 10:34:29 AM PST by technically right
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To: SkyDancer

biden is now guilty of war crimes.


18 posted on 03/04/2022 11:38:35 AM PST by oldasrocks
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To: SeekAndFind
To alleviate economic pain back home, both the United States and the EU must halt their war on fossil fuel and free energy from ruinous policies

This has to be a top 5 priority with the new Congress. BUT, will the new Congress even make any commitments to voters or do they just want power and money? 1) Energy Independence 2) Close the borders 3) Stop the spending spree and cut government 4) Finally reform education and force competition 5) Impeach Brandon and prosecute Hillary and Hunter

19 posted on 03/04/2022 11:45:12 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: oldasrocks

Importing oil from Russia is a major crime; the media would have a field day if Trump was in office.


20 posted on 03/04/2022 11:57:51 AM PST by SkyDancer ( I make airplanes fly, what's your super power?)
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