Scholz meets Biden on February 7th

the The US economy warns against excessive measures in view of the tough sanctions announced by President Joe Biden in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to the National Foreign Trade Council, companies must be allowed to fulfill existing obligations and products must be excluded from the measures. He represents the interests of Chevron, General Electric and other large US corporations doing business in Russia. At the same time, the big energy companies are urging Congress to limit the scope and timeframe of sanctions.

The Biden administration and Congress would “need to work out the details properly if they have to enforce the threatened sanctions,” Jake Colvin, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, told Reuters. “These details should include safe havens or settlement deadlines that allow companies to meet existing contracts and commitments.” Exceptions for essential medicines and other humanitarian considerations should also be considered.

Energy companies have approached US lawmakers directly. They are pushing for a “cooling off” or “wind-down” period. she fear that their assets will be confiscated, should they be unable to fulfill existing contracts in Russia, a congressional adviser said. “The sanctions should be as targeted as possible to limit the potential damage to US companies’ competitiveness,” said a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute, America’s largest lobbying organization for oil and gas drilling.


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