Business worried as U.S. weighs Russia sanctions

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. business groups said on Thursday they had received few clues what steps the United States might take to punish Russia for its military action in Georgia, but urged the White House to proceed cautiously.

"We made a real effort to find out and they were entirely uncommunicative," said Bill Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, which represents U.S. exporters such as Boeing, Microsoft and General Electric.

But "I came away with a very clear impression that something is going to happen, that doing nothing is not a choice here," Reinsch said.

"We've been telling them to think very carefully before acting and move very cautiously and whatever you do, make sure that it's multilateral, not unilateral," Reinsch said.

Earlier on Thursday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told reporters the European Union was considering sanctions against Russia because of Moscow's refusal to pull back troops in Georgia.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the Bush administration was discussing whether to nix a civil nuclear pact with Moscow, but told reporters it was too early to say what action the United States might take.

"It is pretty evident that the European government and our own government are weighing options right now," said Mike Considine, director for Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "The situation is clearly at a serious level and they're trying to find the right way to respond to this."

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