House votes 424-8 to suspend normal trade relations with Russia


The House on Thursday passed legislation to suspend normal trade relations with both Russia and Belarus, yet another effort from U.S. lawmakers "to inflict economic pain on the Kremlin for its unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine," CNN reports.
The bipartisan-backed bill will now move to the Senate, where it is expected to pass; Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday he would work to push the bill through quickly once it made it past the House.
"We must do all we can to hold Putin accountable for senselessly attacking the Ukrainian people and undermining global stability," House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and the panel's top Republican, Rep. Kevin Brady (Texas), wrote in a joint statement. "The suspension of normal trade relations is an essential part of our effort to restore peace, save lives, and defend democracy."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The bill sailed through the chamber 424 to 8, The Wall Street Journal notes, and revokes both Russia and Belarus' most-favored-nation trade status, a move President Biden announced last week. The legislation also "requires the U.S. trade representative to urge Russia to be suspended from the World Trade Organization and to stop Belarus's membership application process," a symbolic gesture, the Journal notes, considering the WTO has no process in place for removing a member.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
October 19 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelago
The Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?
In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
Do Republicans have a health care plan?
Today's Big Question The shutdown hinges on the answer
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats