Joe Biden announced on Friday that the US plans to ban the import of seafood, vodka and diamonds from Russia in retaliation for Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine.
The US president said the ban would be part of a move by America to revoke normal trading relations, with Russia, also known as “most favored nation” status, with a similar move also expected from allies in the Group of Seven (G7) leading nations and the European Union.
Revoking such trading relations will “make it harder for Russia to do business with the United States”, Biden said and noted that the US was “taking the first steps” to ban imports of Russian “seafood, vodka and diamonds”.
“Putin is the aggressor and Putin must pay a price,” he said.
Biden said the US was also banning the export of luxury goods to Russia, calling it the latest, but “not the last step we’re going to take”.
More details to follow
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