Crushing Putin's economy: US Senators back 500% tariffs on Russian goods

One of US President Donald Trump's key allies said the bill is supported by 72 senators.

"The goal is to help the President," Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, told reporters Wednesday, on the same day that the US and Ukraine announced an agreement over access to the latter country’s natural resources.

As Bloomberg notes, the agreement gave some reassurance to officials in Kyiv, who had been concerned that Trump might withdraw support for peace talks.

Gun to Putin's head

The punishment would include a 500% tariff on imports from countries that buy Russian oil, petroleum products, natural gas, or uranium. Other sanctions would also prohibit US citizens from purchasing Russian sovereign debt.

"I want a negotiated end to the war, honorably and just. I think Trump's the best person to achieve that goal, but these sanctions represent the Senate's view that we see the primary bad guy being Russia," the Senator said.

Graham added that Putin "would be making a huge mistake to try to play Trump, so this bill is a tool in President Trump's toolbox."

"When President Trump believes that we’ve reached an impasse, then watch for action," the Senator noted.

Graham stated that he has enough support in the House of Representatives to introduce the sanctions bill there as well.

US senator said that in the end, Putin would have to choose between meeting with Trump and ending the war - or having the Russian economy be "crushed."

In early April, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced a bill proposing tough sanctions against Russia for its refusal to seek a lasting peace with Ukraine.