Senator Lindsay Graham wants the U.S. to impose more sanctions on Russia and also punish its trade partners for doing business with it by imposing tariffs on those that buy Russian oil and gas.
Graham told the Wall Street Journal in an interview that he had prepared a bill to that effect and that the bill had garnered support from more than 60 co-sponsors in Congress. According to the Republican hardliner, he could get support from 67 co-sponsors by the end of the week, which would make the bill immune to a presidential veto.
The bill envisages primary and secondary sanctions on countries that support Russia’s foreign policy, to be put into effect if, per the Wall Street Journal, “the Russian government refuses to negotiate a peace agreement, violates a peace agreement or invades Ukraine again in the future.”
The bill also includes a stipulation about tariffs of 500% on imports into the United States from Russian trade partners in the energy business, including uranium.
The report suggests that the sanctions and tariffs would only be enforced—if the bill passes—in case the ongoing peace talks about Ukraine fail. “I let him know what we’re doing,” Graham said, referring to President Trump. “And I’m not going to speak for the president, but I will say that I hope he’s successful. I am somewhat optimistic we can get there. But we can’t let this go on forever.”
The United States, the European Union, and several other allies have imposed over a thousand different sanctions on Russia since 2022’s invasion of Ukraine, making it the most heavily sanctioned country in history. The energy industry has been a preferred target for sanctions due to its share in Russian budget revenues, which stands at around 30%. So far, however, none of the sanctions have had the desired effect of devastating Russia’s income from energy exports.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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