The US said on the 8th that each country decides whether other allies will join its ban on Russian oil imports.
Unlike the US, which has imposed other economic sanctions on Russia, such as export controls and financial sanctions, to encourage alliance participation, the US has taken a position that it does not intend to pressure participation, citing differences in each country’s circumstances regarding the embargo. for crude oil.
“I would say that each country will make its own decisions,” White House press secretary Jen Saki said at a briefing on Wednesday.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also told CNBC she would not pressure the alliance to do the same with the United States when it comes to importing Russian oil and energy.
Russia accounts for 3% of US crude oil imports and 8%, including petroleum products. Gas from Russia is not imported.
On the other hand, Europe depends on Russia for 40% of gas and 25% of oil.
A senior US official also pointed out at a press briefing that the US could impose an embargo due to massive domestic energy production and infrastructure.
The official said the US is a leading producer and net exporter of oil and gas, and US energy companies have the resources and incentives to increase US production.
According to him, thousands of drilling permits have already been issued on federal lands alone.
This means that the US, an oil-rich country, can increase production relatively easily, unlike Europe.
President Biden also said, “We produce more crude oil domestically than all European countries combined. In fact, we are a net energy exporter.”
This is interpreted as an underlying understanding that maintaining unity is not as easy as other economic sanctions, as seen in a situation where there are pros and cons of import bans due to Russia’s energy dependency in Europe.
This trend is likely to be a factor in easing some of the burden on Korea, which has joined the international community in sanctions against Russia.
This is because if the US position that this should be decided according to the circumstances of each country is implemented as it is, the Korean government will have more opportunities to autonomously resolve the embargo issue according to its own conditions and circumstances.
It is also worth watching the situation in which Europe, which was “perfect” with the US and other sanctions, is not able to speak out with one voice, expressing disagreements over a ban on crude oil imports.
However, Europe is also not able to immediately reduce its dependence on Russia, and in the medium and long term sets the course for a break with the Russian energy sector, so the likelihood of a “post-Russian” trend is created in some way quite a lot.