Sen. Rand Paul on Thursday added complications to the Senate’s final passage of a measure to suspend normal trade relations with Moscow, handing a blow to Democrats who had hoped to give President Biden more tough-on-Russia ammunition during his visit to Brussels to meet with European allies.
The bill would revoke Russia’s permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status, and is part of a broad trade action in coordination with the European Union and Group of Seven (G7) countries.
The measure gives President Biden broader leeway to enact tariffs on products from the country and further weaken Russia’s economy in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Both parties had agreed to swift passage Thursday afternoon before Mr. Paul, Kentucky Republican, threatened to block the measure.
Mr. Paul’s objections focus on language in the bill which he said gives the president overly broad sanctions authority under the Global Magnitsky Act — a law passed in 2016 to crack down on human-rights abuses.
“What they’re trying to do is take the Magnitsky Act and drive an enormous hole in it that you can push anything through and do sanctions on anybody anywhere in the world based on a vague, ambiguous and vast definition that is not specific,” Mr. Paul said on the Senate floor.
“If this language goes through, it will remove any checks and balances and any definitions as to what human rights abuses are,” he said. “It’s a terrible mistake. It’s rash. And we shouldn’t do it.”
The measure sailed through the House last week, passing 424-8, before hitting snags in the Senate over a Republican push to combine the bill revoking Russia’s trade status with a separate House-passed measure to codify the Russian oil ban, which President Biden invoked through executive order.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said it would be “unreasonable and deadly wrong” for Mr. Paul, Kentucky Republican, to block the measure, “especially while the president is abroad.”
“There’s been an imperative for the Senate to unite and quickly pass legislation stripping Russia of Normal Trade Relation Status with the United States,” he said. “The House has acted. The White House supports it. As the president meets with our allies in Europe, it’s very important we send a message to the world that we are united in making sure [Russian President Vladimir] Putin pays a heavy price for his war on Ukraine.”
The U.S. has taken steps to ban Russian energy imports, including oil and liquified natural gas, along with other goods such as seafood and alcohol.
On Thursday, the White House announced additional sanctions on more than 400 individuals and entities, including more than 300 Russian lawmakers and more than 40 Russian defense companies.
More than 600 Russian individuals and businesses have been targeted with sanctions since the war began, the White House said.
The measure targeting Russia’s trade relations status would slap increased tariffs on additional Russian goods ranging from enriched uranium to crabs.
Russian imports accounted for approximately 1% of goods sourced from abroad in 2021, according to U.S. trade data, though certain industries reliant on some imports could be heavily impacted, according to a Congressional Research Services report published last week.
“For example, in 2021, certain titanium products (used by the aerospace industry) accounted for roughly 53% of total U.S. imports of similar products,” the report reads. “Without PNTR, the duty rate for these products would increase from 15% to 45%. Based on the 2021 dutiable value of those products, U.S. importers would pay an additional $32.4 million in duties.”
The European Union, G7, and other “like-minded partners” revoked Russia’s favorable trade status earlier this month.
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