US Senators Agree on the 'Hellish Sanctions' Bill Against Russia: What’s Next
A bipartisan group of US senators has announced an agreement on a long-awaited bill that will grant President Donald Trump additional powers to impose new restrictions on the largest buyers of Russian energy resources, as well as Iran, Bloomberg reports.
President Trump has already signalled support for this initiative, which was actively promoted by the late Senator Lindsey Graham. A procedural vote on the bill is scheduled for Tuesday, 28 July.
According to the text of the document, the bill expands sanctions against Iran and specifically addresses the export of Russian oil and natural gas. It authorises the US president to impose tariffs on the five largest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas, as well as on five countries that assist Russia in circumventing energy sanctions.
As Bloomberg notes, the bill has a high chance of being approved by the Senate this week. However, the House of Representatives has already begun its August recess, meaning the document will not come into effect before September.
The document also extends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 until 2031, preventing the expiration of relevant authorities. This law, which provides for secondary economic sanctions against foreign companies doing business with Iran, was set to expire this year.
Additionally, the bill allows the US president to impose a universal tariff of 500% on Russian goods imported into the US, as well as an additional 100% tariff on the five largest energy importers and countries that import Russian oil or natural gas or help circumvent sanctions.
At the last moment, amendments were made to the document, limiting the duration of the new tariff authorities to five years.
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