Washington DC: United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday (January 7) gave a nod to the bipartisan Russia Sanctions Bill aimed at penalising nations, including India, China and Brazil, that are trading with Moscow for purchasing Russian oil, American Senator Lindsey Graham said. Once passed, the bill will then give authority to the US President to impose tariffs of up to 500 per cent on Russia’s trading partners.
After assuming charge as the US President, Trump time and again accused India, China and Brazil of fuelling Russia’s war machine against Ukraine. In a post on X, Graham said that the move comes amid the backdrop of the ongoing peace negotiations for Ukraine and hinted that it would go for a bipartisan vote next week.
Statement By Senator Lindsey Graham:
“After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator Blumenthal and many others. This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent,” the American Senator stated.
“This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fuelling 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. I look forward to a strong bipartisan vote, hopefully as early as next week,” he added.
The bill titled “Sanctioning of Russia Act 2025” by Graham seeks to impose several provisions, which include penalties on individuals and entities, as per the official website of the US Congress. These penalties will include an increase in the rate of duty on all goods and services imported from Russia into the United States to at least 500% relative to the value of such goods and services.
On January 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met members of the US delegation, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, where both sides discussed a diplomatic approach towards ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had claimed that PM Modi was unhappy over high tariffs imposed on India for purchasing Russian oil.
At the House GOP Member Retreat, Trump suggested that although relations remain cordial, the tariff issue has created tension.
“I have a very good relationship with PM Modi, but he is not happy with me as India is paying high tariffs. But now they have reduced it very substantially, buying oil from Russia,” Trump had said.
Notably, the US has already imposed 50 per cent tariffs on some of India’s key exports for purchasing Russian oil.
