New details emerge on Graham's Russia sanctions bill
The late United States Senator Lindsey Graham (photo: Getty Images)
An updated version of the Russia sanctions bill was unveiled in the United States the day before. The legislation would require United States President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on the largest importers of Russian oil and gas, The Hill reports.
"It (the adoption of the bill — ed.) gives the United States leverage, but it also gives Ukraine critical leverage, hopefully at peace talks, because the ultimate goal here is peace. Nobody wants this war to continue," Democratic United States Senator Richard Blumenthal said.
It is important to understand that he and the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham are the co-authors of the bipartisan bill on tough sanctions against Russia.
The media was unable to determine what specific changes Donald Trump had demanded to the bill. Despite this, it is known that the updated document provides for a flexible tariff scale.
Thus, the head of the White House will be able to unilaterally impose tariffs of up to 100% on certain countries and individuals that facilitate the sale of Russian energy resources.
In addition, exemptions are provided for countries that are taking significant steps to reduce imports of Russian gas.
The bill requires Trump to impose sanctions within 30 days after its adoption. This means that the sanctions become mandatory, unlike the 2025 version of the document, in which their application depended on whether Russia refused to negotiate with Ukraine.
Currently, the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil are:
- China,
- India,
- Slovakia,
- Hungary,
- Azerbaijan.
The largest importers of Russian natural gas are:
- China,
- France,
- Japan,
- Hungary,
- Belgium.
Countries will be exempt from tariffs if their imports of Russian natural gas account for less than 15% of Russia's total annual gas exports over the past 12 months.
Another important point is that they must take significant steps to reduce purchases of Russian gas. It is precisely because of this that European countries and Japan will not be affected by the new tariffs.
The bill also provides for the introduction of tariffs against countries that help Russia circumvent sanctions, including through participation in the activities of the so-called shadow fleet.
These are vessels that transport Russian oil or gas around the world using concealed or altered identification, making them more difficult to detect and block.
In this case, the following may come under United States sanctions:
- China,
- India,
- The United Arab Emirates,
- Türkiye,
- Singapore,
- Some Central Asian countries.
More details about Graham's bill on "bone-crushing" sanctions against Russia are available in our separate report.
Trump has also commented on the likelihood of the bill being passed.
Recently, the United States president's team said it was ready to support such a sanctions initiative.
