USA propose a tariff

Brussels The US is getting involved in the debate about an oil embargo against Russia and is trying to dissuade the EU from its previous sanctions plans. On the occasion of US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s trip to Europe, high-ranking US government officials instead proposed a punitive tariff on Russian oil supplies as an interim solution.

The background is the concern that European efforts to exclude Russian oil from the world market could lead to significant price increases – and could also further drive inflation in the USA.

Yellen, following a meeting with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, said it was possible to combine the Russian oil exit with a “price mechanism”. At the same time, the US Treasury Secretary emphasized the importance of reducing dependence on Russian energy.

Speaking in Brussels, Yellen said: “We have become too vulnerable to countries using their market position in commodities, technologies or products to exert geopolitical pressure or to disrupt markets for their own benefit.”