The No Most Favored Nation Trading with Russia Act would revoke Russia's Permanent Normal Trade Relations, or PNTR, status with the U.S., which allows Russian goods to be imported into the U.S. with "much lower" tariffs than countries that don't share that status, according to Wyden.
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin's unjustified, unprovoked and appalling invasion of Ukraine shows he doesn't believe international laws apply to Russia," Wyden said. "You don't get to do that and still benefit from normal trade relations."
Russia has held PNTR status since joining the World Trade Organization in 2012, under which it is supposed to be given trade terms equal to the best terms the U.S. gives to any other country. Revoking that status would give the president the authority to raise tariffs on Russian goods, according to Wyden.
U.S. imports of Russian goods and services into the U.S. totaled $22.2 billion in 2020, mostly mineral fuels and metals, according to the U.S. Trade Representative's most recent full-year published figures. That means Russia is a relatively minor source of imports to the U.S., with imports from China — the top importer to the U.S. — for example, totaling $450.4 billion in 2020, according to the USTR.
The proposed bill, which follows similar legislation introduced in the House by Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, on Feb. 25, would also direct the administration to encourage U.S. allies and partners to take similar actions against Russia and to "use the voice and influence of the United States at the World Trade Organization to seek the suspension of the membership of the Russian Federation."
A representative for the Russian Embassy in the U.S. did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Wyden had foreshadowed the bill in a statement on Tuesday outlining his proposed steps to "hold Russia accountable" for its invasion of Ukraine, on top of the sanctions and export controls that have been steadily ramped up by the U.S. and many other countries over the past week.
The tariff treatment of Russia should reflect its "pariah status," Wyden had said, while also suggesting the use of trade tools to address its "digital authoritarianism," as Russia throttles internet access and censors online content.
Holding Russia accountable also has to involve "following the money, and rooting out billions in illicit assets stashed around the world by Putin and his cronies," Wyden said.
The Finance Committee chair, for example, proposed providing more funding to the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigations Unit, saying it had been "starved of resources" and would be critical for pursuing illicit Russian assets held in the U.S.
That should come alongside the establishment of a U.S. Departments of Justice and Treasury task force to identify and seize assets from "Russian oligarchs and Kremlin-linked companies," Wyden said, an idea effectively put into practice on Wednesday with the DOJ's announcement of the interagency Task Force KleptoCapture.
Wyden also suggested requiring U.S. financial institutions to "rigorously monitor" and cut off correspondent banking services for Russian oligarchs and entities associated with the country, as well as proposing measures aimed at cutting off money laundering.
That would include closing what he said was a loophole in the Investment Company Act allowing private equity firms and hedge funds to avoid implementing anti-money laundering requirements, as well as providing additional funding for the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
FinCEN is tasked with enforcing a 2020 anti-money laundering law that includes maintaining a beneficial ownership registry that is supposed to shed light on people such as Russian oligarchs who use anonymous shell companies to make investments in U.S. assets.
--Editing by Steven Edelstone.
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