President Joe Biden’s decision to ban Russian oil strikes at the U.S. largest oil exporter, an action that could have a wide impact even though imports only make up a small percentage of total U.S. oil supplies.
An NBC News analysis of U.S. oil data revealed that Russian crude oil and petroleum products exports to the U.S. account for 8 percent of its total imported oil, and less than 2 per cent of its supply. This is far from the European countries: Half of all European nations import their oil. On average, 20 percent of imported oil comes from Russia.
Biden stated Tuesday that the Russian oil embargo would likely increase gasoline prices in the U.S.. However, he acknowledged that not all European countries will be able follow the lead of the ban. Canada and the United Kingdom have announced bans on Russian oil as of Wednesday. Eurostat estimates that 12 percent of U.K. oil imports are from Russia.
The latest in a string of sanctions against Russia is the oil ban. It was implemented following the invasion of Ukraine by the country in February.