U.S. to revoke Russia’s most-favored nation status amid Ukraine crisis

Washington, U.S. | Xinhua | The U.S. government will revoke Russia’s most-favored nation trade status amid the Ukraine crisis, the White House said Friday, noting that it will work with Group of Seven (G7) countries and the European Union to roll out new sanctions.

U.S. President Joe Biden and the other G7 leaders “will announce new economic actions” to “further isolate Russia from the global financial system,” the White House said in a statement.

The sanction followed an energy embargo on Russia announced by Washington on Tuesday, among a series of moves against Russia over the Ukraine crisis, even though analysts have warned of huge potential consequences and spillovers.

On the same day, leaders of the European Union agreed on imposing new sanctions against Russia in an informal summit in Versailles, France.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the new sanctions aim to further isolate Russia from the global economic system. She also announced a plan to find alternatives to Russian fuels by 2027 in order to reduce EU’s dependence on Russia.

“There’s the law of unintended consequences,” U.S.-China Business Council President Craig Allen told Xinhua earlier this week, commenting on the potential economic impact of Western sanctions on Russia.

“What you intend to do, perhaps is punish Russia, but there are unintended consequences to every action. And it’s too early to be able to say, what are the unintended consequences of this,” Allen said.

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Xinhua