House Votes to Suspend Normal Trade Relations With Russia

The legislation passed by the House would also suspend normal trade relations with Belarus, in recognition of its role in aiding Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Stripping Russia of its trading status would be the latest in a growing list of economic penalties imposed on the country, whose economy is facing collapse.

The debate in Congress over how to best respond to Russia’s assault on Ukraine has taken on an increasingly bitter partisan tinge, as Republicans have moved to cast the invasion as an outgrowth of what they characterize as Mr. Biden’s shortcomings. Some of that spirit crept into the debate on the trade measure on Thursday, such as when Representative Tom Rice, Republican of South Carolina, criticized the Biden administration for “projecting weakness to Putin and his allies.”

Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, lavished praise on how both parties had worked together in a timely fashion to ban Russian energy products and advance the trade measure. Then he turned to criticizing Mr. Biden for failing to approve new gas drilling licenses at home.

For the most part, though, lawmakers trained their ire on President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Speaking on the House floor, Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused him of committing war crimes against civilians and children, echoing comments made this week by Mr. Biden.

Ms. Pelosi said that “what Putin is doing in Ukraine — bombing civilians, targeting children — is outside” what she called “the circle of civilized human behavior.”

“He is committing war crimes,” she said, “and he must be held accountable.”

Ana Swanson contributed reporting.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/us/politics/house-russia-trade-status.html