Secretary of State says the Biden administration is having 'active discussions' to ban Russian oil imports to the US

• Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is considering levying oil sanctions on Russia.
• "We are now in very active discussions with our European partners about banning the import of Russian oil to our country," he said on Sunday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said the Biden administration is considering banning imports of Russian oil to the United States.

Blinken, in an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," said the president is holding discussions with European allies on whether it's smart to do so.

"We are now in very active discussions with our European partners about banning the import of Russian oil to our country while, of course, at the same time, maintaining a steady global supply of oil," Blinken said.

After Russia, a major oil producer, invaded Ukraine, the US levied a series of harsh economic sanctions designed to make a dent in Russia's critical cash reserves and cut the country off from access to financial institutions. So far, the sanctions have crippled the Russian economy and made it difficult to acquire cash. But consumers have also seen gas prices rise as the global oil supply is disrupted.

"We see the ruble in free-fall, we see the economy heading into a deep recession," Blinken told Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press." "We've already had a major impact."

The last sanction the US can impose over Russian President Vladimir Putin is a ban on the country's oil exports. As Insider's Mattathias Schwartz notes, Russia's energy resources bring home more than $500 million per day, which makes up about half its government revenue. So the Biden administration would deal a major blow to Russia if the US decides to impose an oil sanction.

The US has so far resisted imposing an oil sanction on Russia, arguing in part that it might push Russia further into China's corner. Additionally, as Schwartz points out, many Western corporations rely heavily on Russian oil.

But Blinken's Sunday remarks could mark a significant shift.

"We are looking, again, as we speak, in coordination with our allies and partners at this process of banning oil imports," Blinken said.

"I'm not going to rule out taking action one way or another irrespective of what they do," Blinken added. "But everything we've done, the approach starts with coordinating with allies and partners."

Some US lawmakers have expressed support for imposing an oil sanction on Russia.

Sen. Joe Manchin from West Virginia, for example, said on Sunday that "it's basically foolish for us to keep buying products and giving profit, giving money, to Putin to be able to use against Ukrainian people."

He and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska introduced a bipartisan bill earlier this week in support of increasing US oil production to make up for any cuts to Russian oil dependence.