Russia’s War on Ukraine

House approves bill to suspend trade relations with Russia, Senate timing remains uncertain

The Senate has pledged to move quickly to send the bill to President Biden, but lingering issues over a ban on Russian oil imports could delay the process.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during her weekly news conference.

The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to revoke normal trade relations with Russia and its ally Belarus until 2024, but Senate action could be delayed by a lingering issue over banning Russian oil imports.

The Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act, approved 424-8, will give the president authority to increase tariffs on the two nations until January 1, 2024.

The legislation also directs the U.S. Trade Representative to pressure other nations to revoke trade privileges for Russia and Belarus push to suspend Russia’s participation at the World Trade Organization and block Belarus, which has supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, from becoming a full member of the global trade body.

The bill would empower President Joe Biden to restore normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus if the nations cease the war in Ukraine and meet other conditions. Congress could overrule that decision, however, with a disapproval resolution.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Thursday morning that his chamber would move quickly to take up the trade legislation and send it to Biden’s desk. But one outstanding issue could delay that process: whether or not it will be paired with legislation barring Russian energy imports, something Senate Republicans are pushing for.

Last week, the House approved a bill to codify a ban on imports of Russian oil, gas and petroleum products, an action already announced by Biden. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi still has not sent that legislation over to the Senate, saying during a press conference on Thursday that it is still a “work in progress.”

Trade leaders in the House and Senate first announced they had a deal to move forward with revocation of Russia’s trade status last week.

The White House, however, expressed concern about the scope of the bill and pushed to hold off on any action until they could coordinate with U.S. allies. On Friday, Biden announced he would work with Congress and foreign leaders to revoke favorable trade treatment for Russia. But the administration and lawmakers continued to haggle over issues like how much authority to give the president to reinstate Russia’s trade privileges.

On Wednesday, the top Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee said the disagreements had largely been resolved. The bill “gives the president the ability to work with the free and independent government of Ukraine in assessing Russia’s behavior,” said Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), “but it also retains Congress’ ability, through a disapproval resolution, to address the issue if needed.”

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), chair of the Ways and Means subcommittee on trade, said after Thursday’s vote that the oil ban and trade bill were originally split due to concerns from the Biden administration, but that the White House is now on board and he expects the oil ban to be sent to the Senate soon.

“We had to do a little hand-holding with the administration,” he said. “I truly do not know why they were opposed.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), however, also expressed concerns about the oil ban bill earlier this week, telling the Washington Post that he preferred Biden’s decision to immediately ban the energy imports and that the bill’s 45-day phase-in was “too long.”

Blumenauer said he hopes the House moves the oil ban to the Senate alongside the trade bill, but that decision falls to Pelosi alone. Her office did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the issue.

If the Russia trade bill is not paired with the oil ban when it reaches the upper chamber, leading GOP senators say they will push to amend the trade bill to include the oil ban and send it back to the House for approval, causing further delay.

“What I’m understanding is they may not put their two bills together, but will instead send us one of them, which does not include the ban on Russian oil,” Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo, the lead Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said Wednesday afternoon. “And that we will then amend it to put that ban in. And so there’s still going to need to be some action in the Senate.”