Each country must implement the change in Russia’s trading status based on its own national processes, administration sources said.
In the United States, removing Russia’s “Permanent Normal Trade Relations” (PNTR) status will require an act of Congress, but lawmakers in both houses – and on both sides of the political aisle – have already signalled their support.
The White House will work with lawmakers on legislation to revoke Russia’s status, administration sources said.
Unprecedented, sweeping sanctions slapped on Russia’s banks and elites, along with export controls on a raft of technologies, have already caused the Russian economy to crater, and the International Monetary Fund is now predicting that it will plunge into a “deep recession” this year.
In 2019, Russia was the 26th largest goods trading partner of the United States, with some US$28 billion exchanged between the two countries, according to the US Trade Representative’s office.
Top imports from Russia included mineral fuels, precious metal and stone, iron and steel, fertilizers and inorganic chemicals, all goods that could face higher tariffs once Congress acts to revoke Russia’s favoured nation trade status.
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