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Senate Moves to Corner Putin With Sanctions and Tariffs on Russian Energy Buyers

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Vlad Litnarovych
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Senate Moves to Corner Putin With Sanctions and Tariffs on Russian Energy Buyers
US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) delivers remarks following the weekly policy luncheon at the US Capitol on February 11, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Source: Getty Images)

A sweeping bipartisan majority in the US Senate is backing a bill that would impose severe new sanctions on Russia — and slap massive tariffs on nations that continue to buy its oil and gas — unless Vladimir Putin agrees to serious negotiations to end the war against Ukraine, Senator Lindsey Graham said, Bloomberg reported on May 1.

Speaking to reporters, the South Carolina Republican and key ally of President Donald Trump said the legislation has the support of 72 senators.

“The goal is to help the President,” Graham said, on the same day the United States and Ukraine signed a landmark agreement granting US access to Ukrainian natural resources.

According to a draft of the sanctions bill obtained by Bloomberg, the penalties would include a 500% tariff on imports from any country purchasing Russian oil, petroleum products, natural gas, or uranium. The legislation would also ban US citizens from buying Russian sovereign debt.

“I want a negotiated end to the war, honorably and just,” Graham said. “I think Trump’s the best person to achieve that goal, but these sanctions represent the Senate’s view that we see the primary bad guy being Russia.”

Graham warned that the bill should be viewed as a serious tool for Trump’s potential foreign policy arsenal.

“Putin would be making a huge mistake to try to play Trump, so this bill is a tool in President Trump’s toolbox,” he said. “When President Trump believes that we’ve reached an impasse, then watch for action.”

Graham also said he has enough support in the House of Representatives to introduce the bill there.

Ultimately, he predicted, Putin will have to choose between “sitting down with Trump and ending the war” or facing a total collapse of Russia’s economy.

The White House has not yet commented on the proposed legislation.

US President Donald Trump has indicated that certain actions by Russian leader Vladimir Putin could lead him to side with Ukraine, according to an interview with The Atlantic on April 28.

During the conversation with Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg, Trump was asked whether Putin could do something that would prompt him to align with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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