PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – President Joe Biden announced Tuesday the U.S. will ban all Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia’s economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine, but he acknowledged it will bring costs to Americans, particularly at the gas pump.
Today, I’m announcing that the United States is targeting a main artery of Russia’s economy.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 8, 2022
We are banning all imports of Russian oil and gas.
This news was not well received at the Fort Lauderdale airport parking lot where rideshare drivers wait for their next customer.
“Not really good for us cause Uber still pays us like the same price they used to pay us,” driver Boby Jirardin said.
With rising gas prices he’s paying more money to fill up, but the income is the same, so he and others are losing money.
Jirardin says the reason behind this is that some drivers are just staying home.
“We lose money big time,” driver Carol Bogoeviciu said.
Bogoeviciu wants the president to expand access to oil.
However, it’s not just higher prices at the pump that are affecting their daily lives.
“You go to the supermarket, the price is high, the egg, milk is high,” another driver said.
Experts do not anticipate the Russian oil ban to have a huge impact on U.S oil supply.
Perplexed at the Pump? What makes up the price of a gallon of Gas? Our AAA gas price experts are here to help you understand. pic.twitter.com/aNRhjo1boy
— AAA (@AAAnews) January 28, 2022
“Russian oil only amounts to three percent of crude imports,” AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said.
The majority of the oil we get comes from Canada, Mexico, and other countries, but oil prices keep rising especially after the Russian invasion began.
They keep going up because of the volatility in the market.
“We’re looking for an additional 10 cents on top of what we are already seeing the pumps,” said Jenkins.
Families may also start scaling back on vacations as the price of jet fuel will likely go up creating a domino effect on air fares.