Germany's Eastern Business Association Proposes US To Drop Nord Stream Sanctions - Reports

The German Eastern Business Committee has sent a letter to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, proposing that sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project be abandoned after Joe Biden's rise to power in the United States, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th November, 2020) The German Eastern business Committee has sent a letter to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, proposing that sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project be abandoned after Joe Biden's rise to power in the United States, the Handelsblatt newspaper reported.

Earlier in November, Reuters reported, citing congressional aides, that US lawmakers would include sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the new National Defense Authorization Act that will target insurance companies and ship vessels facilitating the construction of the project. About 120 companies from more than 12 European counties would be affected by the US sanctions, the media added.

According to the letter sent on Tuesday, with the victory of Joe Biden in the US presidential election, Germany has high hopes for reviving the transatlantic partnership.

However, the country's businesses are concerned about Democrats' intention to introduce new extraterritorial sanctions against the project at the expense of European companies.

Within the context, the committee called on the United States to "refrain from economic penalties," the newspaper reported on Thursday.

In October, the US State Department broadened the scope of sanctions against the Nord Stream 2, enabling Washington to target companies that provide services or funding to vessels working on the project.

The Kremlin has criticized Washington for imposing yet another set of sanctions on the project, saying that it exemplifies Washington's desire for unfair competition.