Trade restrictions against Putin are failing.
Not that long ago, we were told by our leaders the “Putin Price Hike” was solely responsible for the absolute gouging everyone had to submit to at the pump. Not too long afterward, President Biden and different White House officials proudly declared that a slight dip in those prices was completely due to the president’s actions, even though they insisted mere weeks before he had zero effect on gas prices. Just like the logic behind how federal government policies impact the cost of gasoline along with other fossil fuels, the conclusion that if the West drastically decreases buying oil and natural gas from Russia it can muscle Putin into withdrawing from Ukraine is fundamentally flawed.
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One glaring example of the failed G7 strategy comes via the news India is buying plenty of oil from Russia. US media has stayed relatively silent about this troubling but hardly surprising development, likely because it embarrasses their preferred political party.
Reported by Nation & State, this story highlights how the White House asked both India and China to use the same price restrictions on Russian oil as the G7. China has responded by recently agreeing to trade oil with Russia using yuan and rubles, foregoing US dollars. That’s a huge blow to the international stability of our currency as well as efforts to isolate Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
What’s apparent about this strategy is that the West is seeing a surge in energy costs while Russia, China, India, and other countries not taking the G7 price cap approach aren’t. Instead of our leaders admitting they’ve made many mistakes when it comes to energy policy, they’re doubling down on “green” initiatives which have helped put us in this pickle.
Janet Yellen, the obviously unqualified US Treasury Secretary, has admitted oil prices will likely spike this winter. It’s like a nice Christmas present to Americans after Congress helped pass the deceptively-named Inflation Reduction Act, which pushed for even more “green” energy initiatives while also smacking down fossil fuels further.
As I’ve said before, the West is in a self-imposed energy crisis and our leaders seem intent on making it worse. The amount of self-loathing Europe has suffered for decades has only increased, but the cancer has spread to this side of the pond as we question why we should even exist. It’s not too late to pull out of this mess, but to do so we need leaders who are practical, not ideologically captured, because this is a time when positive results separate us from the pit of chaos along which we skip across the very rim.
Source: Nation & State
