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The United States on Friday announced new sanctions targeting Russia\u2019s energy sector and its \u201cshadow fleet\u201d of oil tankers in what could be a final attempt by the Biden administration to cripple the Russian economy in response to Moscow\u2019s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
President Biden has been cautious in his approach<\/a> to sanctions on Russia\u2019s energy sector out of concern that shutting off its exports would send gasoline prices surging around the world. But U.S. officials said healthier global oil supplies and the easing of inflation presented an opportunity to exert more pressure on Russia\u2019s oil industry as the war approaches its fourth year.<\/p>\n Despite a coordinated effort by Western allies to economically punish Moscow for its actions, the Russian economy has avoided the collapse that many economists predicted.<\/p>\n The moves from the Biden administration will put the onus on the Trump administration to decide whether to enforce the sanctions. Senior Biden administration officials demurred when asked if the sanctions were discussed with President-elect Donald J. Trump\u2019s transition team but said they expected the measures to provide the next administration with additional leverage over Russia to negotiate an end to the war.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe United States is taking sweeping action against Russia\u2019s key source of revenue for funding its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine,\u201d Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said in a statement. \u201cWith today\u2019s sanctions, we are ratcheting up the sanctions risk associated with Russia\u2019s oil trade, including shipping and financial facilitation in support of Russia\u2019s oil exports.\u201d<\/p>\n Oil prices jumped on Friday ahead of the announcement of the sanctions amid concerns that new restrictions, along with severe weather in the United States and wildfires California, could constrain global energy supplies.<\/p>\n The new sanctions target more than 180 vessels from Russia\u2019s fleet of shadow tankers that Moscow has used to evade existing oil sanctions. They also blacklist two leading Russian oil producers, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, and their subsidiaries.<\/p>\n The sanctions take aim at Russian liquefied natural gas projects, Russian energy officials and providers of services that support the country\u2019s energy industry. And they limit some of the exceptions that have been in place to allow banks to continue facilitating Russian energy transactions.<\/p>\n U.S. sanctions can essentially cut a person or company off from the Western financial system.<\/p>\n The Biden administration said this will substantially undermine Russia\u2019s oil revenues and cost the Russian economy billions of dollars per month. Senior officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the administration\u2019s thinking, described the package of sanctions as the most significant to date on Russia\u2019s energy sector.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Since the start of the war, Mr. Biden has wary of rattling global oil markets while inflation was soaring. In 2022, the Group of 7 nations created an oil \u201cprice cap\u201d that was intended to limit how much revenue Russia could make from the oil it exports. Over time, the effectiveness of that strategy waned as Russia developed measures, such as its shadow fleet of aging tankers, to circumvent the sanctions<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, with inflation under control and the presidential election over, the administration has been taking a more aggressive approach toward Russia in its final months.<\/p>\n In late November, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Russia\u2019s Gazprombank, a major financial institution that is a conduit for Russian energy payments and the purchase of military equipment that Moscow uses in Ukraine.<\/p>\n Last month, the United States transferred $20 billion to Ukraine in the form of a loan that will be repaid using interest earned from Russia\u2019s frozen central bank assets.<\/p>\n Although Russia\u2019s economy has proved to be resilient, it remains under pressure.<\/p>\n