Ukraine war: Trump okayed key Russia sanctions bill, says US senator

WAshington: US chairperson Donald ruff testament back up a young Russia sanctions bill that could hike tariffs on goods and services from India and other countries that buy Russian oil to 500%, said US Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday.The bill -- known as the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 --has acquired 84 co-sponsors in the US Senate and could be put to a vote in the Senate as early as next week.Indian goods exports to the United States grew to roughly $7 billion in November, a 22% increase over the previous year despite tariffs being raised to 50% by Trump in August over purchases of Russian oil. However, experts said, a 500% tariff on Indian goods and services would effectively shut down Indian exports to the US.“This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fuelling [Vladimir] Putin’s war machine. This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivise them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine,” Graham stated in a post on X.The bill was first introduced in the Senate in April last year by Senator Graham, who is a close political ally of President Trump. The bill quickly gained bipartisan support in the Senate, with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal joining Graham to push the bill.The steep 500% tariffs on goods and services will apply to a country that “knowingly sells, supplies, transfers, or purchases oil, uranium, natural gas, petroleum products, or petrochemical products that originated in the Russian Federation.”The proposed bill allows the President of the United States to issue a one-time waiver of 180 days to a particular country in case “if the President determines that such a waiver is in the national security interests of the United States”.While President Trump expressed support for the bill in July last year, the bill has not been put for a vote yet.Experts are divided about the bill’s prospects of passing the House and Senate and eventually receiving Trump’s approval.“President Donald Trump has so far avoided taking tariff actions through Congress, instead relying on presidential emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. That approach is now under legal challenge, with a Supreme Court ruling expected shortly. By contrast, the Graham bill would require Senate approval, making its passage uncertain,” explained Ajai Srivastava of the Global Trade Research Initiative.However, Prerna Bountra of the Ananta Aspen Centre disagreed.“Bipartisan support and endorsement from the President paint a bleak picture. Chances of the bill passing seem quite high..,” said Bountra. “On oil, India’s only hope, other than the bill not passing, is that recent reports of declining purchases from Russia highlight India’s willingness to cooperate,” she added.Srivastava added that there is no legal mechanism to tariff services exports from India, which could involve taxing US firms on payments for Indian services exports.“A 50% tariff has already inflicted significant damage. A 500% tariff would effectively shut down India’s goods and services exports to the United States, now exceeding $120 billion annually,” he said.This legislative effort comes even as diplomatic talks between Kyiv, Moscow and Washington DC have failed to bring the Ukraine war to an end. While the Trump administration has preferred engagement with Vladimir Putin’s government, many legislators have echoed a more traditional hawkish line on Russia.