White House says sanctioning Russian fuel exports ‘on the table,’ but Biden still weighing their impact on gas prices at home

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Taking such a step would be an extraordinary measure that could have an intense effect on domestic gas prices, however, and Psaki made clear that the White House’s top priority is to minimize the impact at home.

“What (Biden) does not want to do is topple the global oil markets or the global marketplace or impact the American people more with higher energy and gas prices,” Psaki told CNN’s John Berman on “New Day.”

“That’s something we heavily weigh. It’s still on the table. It’s not off the table. But again, that’s how the President looks at this as we’re announcing and pursuing additional steps,” she added.

The US has already announced a slew of sanctions against Russia and President Vladimir Putin since the country’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last week. But the unprecedented step of sanctioning its oil experts would likely send prices skyrocketing, dealing a painful blow to consumers around the world as Russia is the world’s No. 2 oil producer.

Though the US consumes very little Russian oil — oil imports from Russia stood at just 90,000 barrels per day in December — the interconnected global market means supply shocks in one part of the world can impact prices everywhere.

Psaki’s comments come as the US and other countries scramble to steady gas prices at home as the crisis enters its second week. On Tuesday, the White House and International Energy Agency announced that the US and its allies agreed to a release of 60 million barrels of oil from their reserves, a move the IEA said was meant to send a “strong message to global oil markets that there will be no shortfall” as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Prices surged even higher Wednesday, as global crude oil prices rose to more than $110 per barrel and the cost of natural gas skyrocketed to a new record in Europe as Russia’s escalating military campaign in Ukraine stoked fear in markets.

Despite soaring prices, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries members and Russia agreed to stick to their current plan of gradually increasing output by just 400,000 barrels per day per month.

The cartel said in a statement “that current oil market fundamentals and the consensus on its outlook pointed to a well-balanced market, and that current volatility is not caused by changes in market fundamentals but by current geopolitical developments,” adding that its next meeting will be March 31.

Echoing Psaki, Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that “everything is on the table” as the US assesses economic sanctions on Russia and continued to stress the US will not send troops to fight Russian forces in Ukraine.

“What we are going to continue to do is stand firm with our allies in terms of reassessing what we are doing with sanctions. Everything is on the table for consideration, frankly,” she told NBC News.

This story has been updated with additional developments Tuesday morning.

CNN’s Kate Sullivan and Matt Egan contributed to this report.

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