US President Joe Biden to sign bills to scrap Russia, Belarus trade status

The White House on Thursday announced that US President Joe Biden will sign legislation to revoke normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, and to ban Russian oil imports to the United States.

"This is something the President supports, had called for, and certainly plans to sign it," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a press briefing.

The US Senate on Thursday passed legislation to suspend Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status with Russia and Belarus amid the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

The Senate passed HR 7108, the Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act, in a 100-0 vote. Suspending PNTR status allows the United States to increase tariffs on their imports above standard World Trade Organization levels.

During the presser, the White House Press Secretary also provided the details on the US military assistance to Ukraine. She said the US has provided USD 1.7 billion of weapons of security aid to Ukraine since the beginning of this conflict.

"As of now, we have provided 1.7 billion dollars of weapons of security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of this conflict... We have not stopped, nor we are stopping providing additional military assistance to Ukraine," she said.

According to a Pentagon release, the security assistance the Biden Administration is providing to Ukraine is enabling critical success on the battlefield against the Russian invading force.

The US Defence Department says Washington is working around the clock to fulfill Ukraine's priority security assistance requests, delivering weapons from U.S. stocks when they are available, and facilitating the delivery of weapons by allies and partners when their systems better suit Ukraine's needs.

"The Administration is continuing to work with allies and partners to identify additional weapons systems to help the Ukrainian military defend its country," the release added.