The U.S. Is Considering Sanctioning Countries That Buy Russian Oil

The U.S. Administration is considering imposing secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian oil as a means to deprive Putin of oil revenues and undermine Russia’s position as an energy export powerhouse in the long term, the New York Times reported on Thursday, quoting current and former U.S. officials.  

Secondary sanctions that are being studied would mean that the U.S. would block buyers of Russian oil from doing business in America or with American and European companies, much like the U.S. tried to do with Iran when the Trump Administration re-imposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports in 2018.  

The Biden Administration is also considering additional measures such as a price cap on Russian oil, NYT says.  

The U.S. Administration is weary of trying to take a large chunk of Russian oil exports off the market because oil prices would soar to record highs, further exacerbating the inflation and record-high gasoline prices for said Administration ahead of the November elections while raising oil revenues for Putin.