The House voted 424-8 Thursday to suspend normal trade relations with both nations beginning Friday and extending until 2024, following through on President Joe Biden's commitment alongside other G7 leaders and the European Union to revoke the nations' favorable trading status. The bill would subject both nations to nonpreferential tariff rates and empowers Biden to yank tariffs even higher if needed.
"We must do all we can to hold [Vladimir] Putin accountable for senselessly attacking the Ukrainian people and undermining global stability," Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Mass., and Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said in a joint statement after introducing the bill Thursday, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to Congress for additional help.
"The suspension of normal trade relations is an essential part of our effort to restore peace, save lives and defend democracy," the pair added.
Under most favored nation status, known in the U.S. as Permanent Normal Trade Relations, all World Trade Organization members ensure their peers receive equal trading terms. Only Congress can revoke this status.
If passed by the Senate, the bill would also mandate that the U.S. work to suspend Russia's participation in the WTO and block Belarus's accession to it. The bill targets Belarus alongside Russia, citing the nation's provision of material support to the "Russian Federation's aggression."
The measure also would modify and reauthorize sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which allows for sanctions on foreign individuals who commit serious human rights violations.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaking from the House floor, voiced support for the bill that would "tighten our stranglehold on the Russian economy." The bill comes on the heels of a raft of sanctions pummeling the Russian economy, hitting oil and gas exports, the nation's banks and Putin directly.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor March 14 that he expects the bill will have broad bipartisan support in the Senate and committed to moving the bill through the chamber quickly.
--Editing by Janice Carter Brown.
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