Senator Marco Rubio wants the U.S. to sanction China’s purchases of oil and other energy supplies from Russia in an effort to cut off funding for that country’s war against Ukraine.
China’s imports of Russian crude have surged this year as the world’s biggest energy consumer picked up discounted barrels that European buyers had shunned. Cutting off the flow of Russian crude to China could leave Beijing competing more fiercely with other large buyers, like India, for oil from the Middle East and Africa, potentially raising prices.
Rubio, a Florida Republican, introduced a bill Tuesday along with fellow Republicans Rick Scott, also of Florida, and Kevin Cramer of North Dakota that would impose penalties on any entity insuring or registering tankers shipping oil or liquefied natural gas to China from Russia, according to Rubio’s office.
