Biden announces ban on Russian oil and gas imports, preparing Americans for 'Putin's price hike' and rising costs at the pump

• President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that the US had banned Russian energy imports.
• This includes imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal.

President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday the US would ban Russian energy imports, stepping up an economic-sanctions campaign to punish the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine.

"We will not be subsidizing Putin's war," Biden said, calling the ban a "powerful blow" against Russian President Vladimir Putin's ability to sustain a military campaign in Ukraine.

The ban will affect imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas, and coal. Bloomberg first reported the latest sanctions on Russia.

The president acknowledged that not every European country would join in a blanket ban on Russian energy imports.

"We're moving forward with this ban understanding that many of our European allies and partners may not be in a position to join us," Biden said, adding that the US was much less reliant on Russian oil.

"We can take this step when others can't, but we're working closely with Europe and our partners to develop a long-term strategy to reduce their dependence on Russian energy as well," he added.

Separately, the European Commission unveiled a plan Tuesday morning to diversify gas supplies and speed up the rollout of renewable gases, which it said could reduce EU demand for Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year.

Biden didn't shy away from discussing the effects the ban would have on inflation. Average national gas prices hit a record high of $4.17 a gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA, breaking a record set in July 2008.

"This is a step that we're taking to inflict further pain on Putin, but there will be costs as well here in the United States," Biden said. "I'm going to do everything I can to minimize Putin's price hike here at home."

The development came amid an escalating financial campaign from the US and its Western allies directed at crushing the Russian economy and punishing Putin. The US and other European nations have already taken steps to cut off Russia from accessing international cash reserves and propping up the rapidly falling value of the ruble.

Sanctions have also sought to bar Russian financial institutions from using SWIFT and making transactions across borders. But the campaign had stopped short of cutting off gas and oil imports, something a growing number of lawmakers from both parties wanted.

Republicans and Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee had been drafting legislation over the weekend to that effect. But the White House stepped in on Monday to keep them from rolling out their bill, two aides granted anonymity to share internal discussions told Insider.

One of the aides said: "They wanted to scoop us, I'm sure."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC Sunday that the US was in "very active discussions" with Europe about banning the import of Russian oil. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said Monday that Biden had talked to "a number of his European partners" earlier in the day about a ban on Russian gas imports but no determination had been made.

Compared with Europe, the US has little reliance on Russian energy supplies. The US imported 8.5 million barrels a day of crude and refined products, such as gasoline or heating oil, last year, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. About 672,000 barrels, or 8% of the total, were from Russia.

The European Union gets about 40% of its natural gas from Russia, which has the world's largest reserves. Russia is also the third-biggest oil producer, accounting for about 12% of global oil production.

"We must become independent from Russian oil, coal, and gas," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement Tuesday. "We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us."

The West had been hesitant to stop energy imports from Russia because it would need to find other sources and prices could soar, which would hurt Americans' wallets. Mark Zandi, an economist at Moody's Analytics, wrote on Twitter that the price of gas could hit $5 a gallon and $150 a barrel.

The Russian government has tried pressuring the West against stepping up its financial campaign. Alexander Novak, Russia's deputy prime minister, said on state television Monday that a ban on Russian oil would lead to "catastrophic consequences" for the global market and cause oil to surge to $300 a barrel, "if not more."

Crude-oil prices jumped higher after the reports. Brent-crude futures rose 4.6% to $128.88 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 4.1% to $124.33, while UK heating-oil futures rallied 10% to $1,320 a ton.