A U.S. proposal to levy tariffs on Russian oil means buyers will have to pay more or seek alternative suppliers, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday the European Union could combine import tariffs on Russian oil with the phased oil embargo it is trying to put in place to shrink Russia’s energy revenues.
The tariff concept will be presented at a G7 finance leaders meeting this week as an economically less costly way to siphon away oil revenues from Moscow while producing faster results, U.S. Treasury officials told reporters.