WI Politicians Push To Ditch Russian Oil Amid Round Of Sanctions

WISCONSIN — The United States and its allies took steps Friday to further isolate and sanction Russia for its war on Ukraine, revoking “most favored nation status” and cutting the flow of luxury goods to Russia, some of them manufactured in Wisconsin.

Less than a percent of exports from Wisconsin go to Russia and less than a percent of Wisconsin's imports come from Russia, according to globalEDGE, a business information site created by Michigan State University.

Two Wisconsin legislators have called for alternate energy options over Russian oil, but support bills with vastly different means — U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison) supports a bill to ban Russian oil and open a biofuel reserve, Baldwin said in a statement.

Meanwhile, U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher (R-Green Bay) announced support of a bill to ban Russian oil and also introduce an energy plan that includes approving the Keystone XL pipeline.

President Joe Biden’s executive order also stopped the import of cocktail party staples like caviar from the Black Sea and other fish and seafood, Russian vodka and other alcoholic beverages, diamonds and other high-end goods.

Also, Biden said, the U.S. and its allies are continuing to add to the names of Russian oligarchs facing sanctions.

“The free world is coming together to confront Putin,” Biden said from the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

Without being specific, Biden said that “Russia would pay a severe price if they used chemical weapons” against Ukraine.

Stripping Russia’s most favored nation status allows the U.S. and its allies to impose crippling tariffs on some Russian imports, further isolating the Russian economy.

The broad shift in trade policy comes as Biden faces pressure at home from a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end what are known as “permanent normal trade relations” with Russia.

Earlier this week, Biden banned Russian oil and gas products, saying the United States would not subsidize Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.

Biden announced the new sanctions as Russia widened its offensive in Ukraine, striking airfields in the west and a major industrial city in the east, while a huge armored column moved closer to the capital city of Kyiv.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.