US Congress Passes Lindsey Graham’s Russia Sanctions Bill
By RT News
If signed into law, the legislation will allow the president to impose tariffs on countries that buy energy from Russia.
The US House of Representatives has passed a bill authorizing President Donald Trump to place tariffs on countries that purchase Russian energy and impose tougher sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine conflict.
The legislation was approved on Wednesday by a vote of 262-159. According to The Hill, 203 Republicans and 58 Democrats voted in favor; seven Republicans and 152 Democrats opposed it. The bill passed the US Senate last month.
The bill, which also grants Trump the authority to impose additional sanctions on Iran, is named in honor of hawkish Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who unexpectedly passed away last month. A major Trump ally and vocal supporter of Ukraine, Graham traveled to Kiev ten times after 2022 and co-wrote the original version of the legislation, calling for “bone-crushing” sanctions against Russia.
The version adopted by Congress allows Trump to impose additional tariffs of up to 100% on countries importing or reselling Russian oil and gas. The bill is aimed at “the top five countries facilitating Russian oil sanctions evasion,” with China and India expected to be among those targeted.
Many Democrats argued that the bill would grant Trump additional powers amid his ongoing trade war with much of the world. “What this legislation will do is give Donald Trump, perhaps, unfettered authority to unleash tariffs on the American people,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
The legislation championed by Graham remained stalled for months as Trump favored diplomacy to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine while refusing to exclusively blame Moscow for the conflict. Trump’s envoys discussed ways to normalize economic ties in talks with their Russian counterparts.
Negotiations on Ukraine, however, largely paused after Trump launched a war against Iran in late February. After a period of inactivity, Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner visited Moscow and Kiev in September.
The bill was passed amid an ongoing energy crisis exacerbated by disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz due to the Iran war. Trump recently blamed Ukraine for rising diesel prices and urged Kiev to stop striking Russian refineries. On Monday, Trump claimed that Russia and Ukraine agreed to halt attacks on each other’s energy sites, but both sides quickly denied that a truce was in place.
Speaking during a trip to India last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country has successfully adapted its economy to mitigate the impact of the “illegal” sanctions. “More than 30,000 sanctions have been imposed on Russia – almost twice as many as on all other countries in the world combined.”
