The House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday to suspend normal trade relations with both Russia and Belarus amid the war in Ukraine.
The Suspending Normal Trade Relations With Russia and Belarus Act, which passed by a 424-8 margin, allows President Joe Biden to increase tariffs on products coming from the two countries and requires the US trade representative to seek suspension of Russia’s participation in the World Trade Organization.
The legislation must now pass the Senate and be signed by Biden to be enacted into law.
This move came one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to Congress, and a week after the House also voted to enact tougher sanctions on Russia and ban the importation of oil from the country. Seventeen members of Congress, overwhelmingly Republicans, voted against that measure.
Belarus, though not the primary aggressor in the conflict, is a close ally of Moscow and has allowed its territory […]