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While the U.S. has issued sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine, those sanctions have deliberately avoided Russia's oil and fuel sectors in order to keep gas prices in the U.S. low.
U.S. oil prices have recently risen amid national inflation, and global oil prices had already reached their highest point since 2014 when worries over the Russia-Ukraine conflict slightly increased oil prices even more. These rising fuel costs, combined with low approval ratings and a struggling economy, could cause trouble for President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections.
To prevent a further increase in global fuel costs, the Biden administration is considering pausing the U.S. gasoline tax, using the country's strategic oil reserves and restricting its oil exports, administration officials told Reuters.
The U.S., the world's top oil producer, is also coordinating with allied countries to increase oil supplies to help reduce the global economic impact from Russia's aggression in Ukraine.
The first wave of economic sanctions against Russia, announced by the White House on Monday, targeted two key Russian financial institutions and five Russian oligarchs, essentially preventing them from doing business in the U.S. or having access to the U.S. financial system, CBS News reported.
"They share in the corrupt gains of the Kremlin policies and should share in the pain as well," Biden said on Monday. He has promised further sanctions if Russia continues pushing into Ukraine.
However, the Kremlin called these sanctions "ineffective" and pledged to retaliate if the U.S. issues further sanctions. Russia could respond by withholding its oil from the world market. Russia supplies nearly 11 percent, or roughly 10.5 million barrels per day, to the global market.
"Russia is one of the leading oil producers globally, behind only the United States and Saudi Arabia," American Automobile Association spokesperson Andrew Gross said in a press statement. "And if they choose to withhold their oil from the global market, such a move would eventually be reflected in higher gas prices for American drivers."
Over the last weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris acknowledged that the Russian invasion could cause U.S. gas prices to rise.
"When America stands for principles, and all of the things that we hold dear, it requires sometimes for us to put ourselves out there in a way that maybe we will incur some cost," Harris said. "In this situation, that may relate to energy costs."
She also said that the Biden administration has taken "specific and appropriate steps" to prepare for the potential economic costs of an invasion.
If U.S. gas prices do rise, 76 percent of Americans would blame Putin and only 58 percent would blame Biden, a new survey showed.
In response to Russia's aggression, Germany halted the start of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The pipeline, which cost $11 billion to construct, isn't yet operational.
Critics have argued that the pipeline and its oil would give Putin a major diplomatic weapon. Its supply of Russian gas into Germany would potentially add $2.7 billion a year to the Russian economy, and about $1.8 billion for Germany.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment.
