US lawmakers pass sanctions bill to put pressure on Russia’s economy
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US lawmakers voted to pass a sweeping sanctions bill to increase economic pressure on Russia over its war in Ukraine.
The legislation, which passed the House of Representatives with strong bipartisan support on Wednesday, imposes sanctions on the country’s defence and energy sectors as well as its shadow fleet of ageing oil tankers, which have been used to evade existing restrictions.
“America is strongest at home when it projects strength abroad. This legislation does exactly that,” Republican Michael McCaul said on the House floor on Wednesday.
The bill, named after the late senator Lindsey Graham, passed the upper chamber of Congress in August with strong bipartisan support and will now go to Donald Trump for signing into law in the coming days.
A White House official on Wednesday confirmed the president intends to sign the bill into law.
The Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act also gives Trump extensive powers to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries that continue to purchase Russian oil and gas.
The top five importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas over the past year could be subject to tariffs under the bill. China, India and Turkey are among the largest importers of Moscow’s energy, but the US’s allies such as Japan, France and Hungary could also be hit with levies.
The provision has divided Democrats and supporters of Ukraine who would like to increase pressure on Moscow but fear Trump could abuse new tariff powers to penalise allies.
“There are so many loopholes written into the bill, I believe, that it’s very unlikely the sanctions relief contemplated in the legislation will ever see the light of day,” said Minority House leader Hakeem Jeffries during the debate on Wednesday, explaining his opposition to the bill.
Fifty-eight Democrats broke with their party to support the legislation, while 152 voted against it. Republicans backed the measure 203 to 7.
The EU continues to rely on Moscow for piped gas and liquefied natural gas but is trying to phase out its reliance on Russian gas next year.
Democrats on Monday tried but failed to amend the legislation to clarify that the bloc would not be classified as a country for the purposes of secondary tariffs.
Lawmakers in both parties have urged Trump to increase pressure on Russia’s economy in an attempt to push Moscow to the negotiating table as the US tries to broker an end to the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year.
“If we do not pass this bill, there will be great joy in the Kremlin and great devastation in Kyiv,” Congress member Steny Hoyer, a Democrat, said on Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his support for the legislation in a video address on Monday, saying: “It is important that it becomes law.”
The bill also gives Trump the ability to waive the imposition of new sanctions on Russia should they jeopardise US national interests.
Graham and Democratic senator Richard Blumenthal first introduced the legislation in the Senate in April last year, where it attracted dozens of co-sponsors from both parties.
While Trump imposed sanctions on Russian oil majors Lukoil and Rosneft, he has largely avoided imposing new penalties on Moscow, and the legislation had languished in the Senate until Graham’s death.
Graham, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, had returned from a trip to Kyiv hours before his sudden passing in July.
