Russia sanctions bill passes US Senate, heads to House

The US Senate passed a sanctions package targeting Russia's energy revenues on August 7, sending the bill to the House of Representatives, where a vote will not take place until at least early September because of the congressional summer recess.

The bill would target Russia's energy sector by imposing tariffs of up to 500 percent on imports from Russia, including gas and oil. It also includes 100-percent tariffs on the five main importing countries of Russian gas and oil, including China and India.

Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock said Trade Representative Jamieson Greer gave assurances that countries among the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas would no longer be penalized if they dropped to sixth place or lower.

The legislation would impose new sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials. It would also target Russia's so-called shadow fleet, a network of ships Moscow uses to evade Western embargoes imposed since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Republican Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said before the vote that the bill could bring Russia to negotiations and cut off money supporting Putin's war effort in Ukraine.

The bill was named for Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11 after advocating for new sanctions against Moscow. His sister, Darline Graham, who succeeded him in the Senate, said the bill “hits Putin where it hurts.” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen said it sent Putin a bipartisan message of “pressure.”

Several House members expressed reservations about the bill. Democratic Representatives Gregory Meeks and Don Beyer said in a joint statement that the Senate-passed version was “unacceptable,” warning that the new tariff powers could be used without restraint by President Donald Trump.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the Senate vote, writing on X: “Together, let us drain Russia's means to continue a war it cannot win.” The Russian Embassy in Washington condemned the legislation last month, saying that sanctioning Russia and its trading partners would be “extremely counterproductive” for the United States amid the war in Iran, an impending energy crisis and rising gas prices before the midterm elections.