If President Joe Biden was serious about weakening adversaries like Russia, China, and Iran, he would let American energy flood the world market. Such a move would deny billions to each of those countries and make a real difference where his ineffective sanctions have failed.
In what seems like a distant memory, Biden threatened “high impact” historic sanctions against Russia after their February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. “Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Biden told the world while trying to play the role of strong leader. Biden promised the sanctions would impact Russia and, over time, drain them of critical resources.
Fast forward two years and it’s clear that Biden’s sanctions are not having the impact he promised. Russia has increased their economic outlook for this year with a new and higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expectation at 2.8 percent. Compare this to the 1.6 percent GDP growth experienced in the United States during the first quarter.
The reason is clear: Russia found countries who want their oil and natural gas who do not care about Biden’s sanctions. Vladimir Putin is selling his oil to China and India, often at a discounted rate, and continues to rake in billions. And Russia isn’t alone.
Iran is another nation that is supposedly under President Biden’s strong sanctions thumb that also appears to be thriving. Even before the sickening terrorist attacks by Hamas on innocent Israeli citizens, Iran was setting oil export records. In just the last year, Iran took in more than $35 billion because of oil exports. Without those oil exports, Tehran would have a trade deficit of nearly $17 billion. And just like Russia, the biggest customer for Iran’s oil is China.
These trends point to clear conclusions: First, Biden’s sanctions do not have the bite he promised. And China, Iran and Russia seem to be very satisfied with the current energy dynamic in the world.
It is past time for President Biden to bury Russia and Iran’s oil ambitions and fight them barrel for barrel. To be clear: If Biden really wanted our adversaries to feel the economic pain of their decisions, he would expand American oil production further and undercut their anti-western monopoly. Of course, it would also have the added benefit of lowering prices for America’s working families and creating economic opportunities too.
Sadly, Biden has a tiny, but well-connected extreme climate constituency to appease and that continues to be his priority. Some of Biden’s few remaining supporters are unhappy that American oil production is going up under his watch. However, higher production numbers speak to the resiliently of an industry constantly under attack by Washington. In other words, production is happening in spite of – not because of – anything Biden is doing.
Consider: Biden set the record for the fewest acres of federal land leased for oil production since the Truman Administration. Last December, the Interior Department openly bragged about offering zero oil and gas leases in the waters offshore the United States. President Biden also halted exports of American liquified natural gas (LNG) exports earlier this year.
Just as Biden stopped American LNG exports, Russia has continued to sell their LNG to the world, including Europe. While European countries have sent $107 billion to Ukraine to fight their war against Russia, they are also buying Putin’s natural gas which sends money to Moscow. It is an insane energy dynamic that would only make sense inside the Biden White House.
America’s advisories are getting richer and stronger because Biden refuses to use our energy as a weapon. He will beg other countries to pump more oil, he will sign away billions in foreign aid and he will drain our precious Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but he will not release his tourniquet on our domestic producers.
President Biden says he wants to play tough against Russia, Iran and China. But until he decides to ignore his climate campaign donors and put America first, our adversaries will continue reaping the benefits.
Larry Behrens is the Communications Director for Power The Future. He has appeared on Fox News and in ZeroHedge speaking in defense of American energy workers. He is the author of the book “Sabotage: How Joe Biden Surrendered American Energy Independence.”