WASHINGTON, October 26. /TASS/. US Congress representatives are threatening businesses, demanding that they refuse to participate in agreements to supply Russian diesel fuel to the US market, Axios reported.
According to the news outlet, Democratic members of the Senate and House of Representatives, along with one Republican who joined them, sent a letter to that effect to major US banks, as well as to several of the country’s ports.
Should the Democrats win next month’s midterm elections, these politicians will head the Senate’s key committees: Foreign Relations, Banking, Finance and Judiciary. In addition, Democratic Congressman Greg Meeks, who signed the letter, is poised to become the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee if the Republicans lose in November. The letter was also signed by Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Elizabeth Warren, Ron Wyden, Chris Coons, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Thom Tillis.
The document stated that legal action could be taken in the US against the Russian-American diesel agreements, noting that the deal "raises significant national security concerns." The lawmakers pointed out that the agreements may also become the subject of "congressional oversight," clearly adopting an anti-Russian stance in the letter. The politicians urged American businesses to refrain from "purchasing, transportation, importation, unloading, storage, financing, or distribution" of Russian diesel in the US or the financing of its acquisition. At the same time, the lawmakers required the business community to "preserve a wide range of potential records and communications related to ‘proposed or actual’ transactions" of this kind, including correspondence with "suppliers, intermediaries and US government officials." Finally, the authors of the letter also ordered them to identify all other companies and contractors involved in such transactions. Businesses are required to report on their completed work by October 28.
The letter was sent to J.P. Morgan, Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. The document was also sent to the ports of Houston, Beaumont, and Corpus Christi in Texas, as well as to ports in New York and New Jersey.