As Biden administration weighs cutting Russian oil imports, know how much oil US imports from Russia

The United States and European allies are exploring banning imports of Russian oil amid intensifying conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi also said in a Sunday letter that the chamber is “exploring” legislation to ban the import of Russian oil and that Congress intends to enact this week USD 10 billion in aid for Ukraine in response to Moscow’s military invasion of its neighbour, said a Reuters report.

The White House is also talking with the Senate Finance Committee and House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee about a potential ban, Reuters added.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the White House slapped sanctions on exports of technologies to Russia’s refineries and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has never launched. So far, it has stopped short of targeting Russia’s oil and gas exports as the Biden administration weighs the impacts on global oil markets and U.S. energy prices.

Meanwhile, a Forbes report has mentioned that the US got 3.5% of imported oil from Russia in 2021. Forbes further examined the US Census Bureau reports and found that 57% ($75.95 billion) of US oil imports were from Canada in 2021 while $4.71 billion were from Russia last year.

Forbes further reported that while the 3.5% attributed to Russia last year “might have been the highest percentage” in at least two decades, but it wasn’t the most by value. It was only the fifth highest total since 2008, Forbes reported.

The US national average for a gallon of gasoline hit $4.009 on Sunday, the highest level since July 2008, according to AAA. Consumers are on average paying 40 cents more than a week ago, and 57 cents more than a month ago.

Americans are by far the world’s heaviest consumers of gasoline, thanks to big cars, long driving distances and little public transportation in many areas, added Reuters.