Our Bureau
Washington, DC
The United States Senate has taken a significant step toward tightening economic pressure on Russia by advancing bipartisan sanctions legislation that could authorize tariffs of up to 100% on imports from countries that continue purchasing substantial amounts of Russian oil and gas, including India and China. The proposal reflects Washington’s ongoing efforts to reduce Moscow’s energy revenues amid the continuing conflict in Ukraine.
The legislation received strong bipartisan backing in a procedural Senate vote, signaling broad political support for tougher measures against Russia. If ultimately approved by both chambers of Congress and signed into law, the bill would expand sanctions targeting Russian officials, financial institutions, and entities linked to the country’s energy sector while granting the U.S. president authority to impose steep tariffs on nations maintaining significant energy trade with Moscow.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats said the chamber voted 86-12 to advance one of the toughest sanctions packages against Russia, sharing remarks by Senator Jeanne Shaheen in a post on X.
The legislation, often referred to as the Sanctioning Russia Act, co-authored by late Senator Lindsey Graham along with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, would give Trump the authority to impose a tariff on imports from countries doing business with Russia’s energy sector.
Graham had repeatedly named India and China as central targets, arguing that the bill’s real focus is to hit the customers of Putin and that China and India together buy around 70 per cent of Russian oil, gas and petroleum products. Graham believed that the war would end when economic pressure forced these buyers to turn on Moscow.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) memorialised the late Senator Lindsey Graham as “a giant of the United States Senate” and a “true American Original”, reflecting on his life and legacy in a deeply personal eulogy at the National Cathedral.