WASHINGTON: The US Senate has passed a sweeping sanctions package targeting Russia’s energy revenues, including tariffs of up to 500% on imports from Russia and 100% tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.
The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives, although lawmakers are not expected to vote on it until at least early September because of the congressional summer recess.
The bill, backed by bipartisan senators, aims to increase economic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin and force Moscow towards negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
Republican Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the measures could “finally bring Russia to the negotiating table” and deliver an impact beyond the battlefield by cutting revenues that support Russia’s war effort.
The legislation targets Russia’s energy sector, imposing tariffs of up to 500% on imports, including oil and gas. It would also impose 100% tariffs on the five largest buyers of Russian energy, including China and India.
The package also proposes new sanctions against Putin and other senior Russian officials and, for the first time, targets Russia’s so-called shadow fleet — a network of vessels used by Moscow to circumvent Western restrictions imposed following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The bill was named in honour of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11 and had been a prominent advocate of tougher sanctions against Moscow.
Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen said the legislation sends Putin a bipartisan message of “pressure”, while Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, who succeeded him in the Senate, said the bill “hits Putin where it hurts.”
However, the legislation could face tougher opposition in the House. Some Democratic lawmakers warned that the expanded tariff powers could give President Donald Trump excessive authority.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the Senate vote, saying the measures could help reduce Russia’s ability to finance the war.
Russia’s embassy in Washington has opposed the legislation, warning that imposing sanctions on Russia and its trading partners amid an energy crisis and rising gas prices could prove “extremely counterproductive” for the United States.
