Lawmakers introduce bill to have state agencies cut all ties with Russian companies
Mar 2, 2022, 3:14 PM
(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
State lawmakers introduced a new bill on Wednesday, which will mandate that all Washington state agencies cancel contracts with Russian companies.
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The effort is being spearheaded by Republican state Reps. Drew Stokesbary and Drew MacEwen, who describe their proposal as “an opportunity to come together in support of the Ukrainian people as they fight back against a brutal autocrat.”
“Washington stands firmly in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and strongly condemns Russia’s military actions against Ukraine,” Stokesbary said in a press release. “Thus, we must step up and declare that we will not do business with countries that show blatant disregard for the sovereignty of free people.”
“Invading Ukraine under false pretenses is an affront to human rights, attacks the principle of self-governance, and threatens the very existence of a free Ukraine,” MacEwan added. “Washington state must immediately divest from Russia to the greatest extent possible.”
The bill would also have the State Investment Board divest from any and all investments in Russian companies.
This appears to have bipartisan backing at the highest levels of Washington’s state government, after Gov. Jay Inslee issued an order on Monday to the state’s trade regulators to terminate commercial connections with Russia.
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Russia is listed as the United States’ 20th largest supplier of imported goods, according to 2019 data. Most of those imports come in the form of materials inaccessible to the average consumer: mineral fuels, platinum, iron, steel, fertilizers, and various manufactured chemicals. Despite that, the country still supplies various agricultural products to the United States, including snack foods, tree nuts, vegetable oils, essential oils, and various dairy products.
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