Senator Paul: US sanctions against Nord Stream 2 are due to mercantilism

Photo: Maxim Shemetov / Reuters

US Senator Rand Paul said that the United States can sacrifice international cooperation for the sake of introducing new sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. He wrote about this in an article for the American Conservative magazine

Paul questioned the effectiveness of Republican Ted Cruise's proposed pipeline restrictive legislation. According to him, the introduction of new sanctions against Russia because of the “Nord Stream-2” is “a dangerous adventure of mercantilism to the detriment of international cooperation.”

The senator noted that the possible sanctions have economic motives, not political ones. He also stressed that they are due to “mercantilism and protectionism rather than considerations of national security.”

Earlier, the Politico newspaper reported that, most likely, the bill on sanctions against Nord Stream 2, proposed by Cruz, will not be approved. The main reason was the reluctance to prevent US President Joe Biden from interacting with Russia. At the same time, the Republican Party said that the vote for the amendments would be adopted by an “overwhelming majority.”