The White House approved a bill to impose 100% tariffs on the world’s top five purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas, including India and China. The bill named in the honor of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of Ukraine who died on July 11, was approved by the Senate by an 86-11 vote. He had strongly advocated against launching war at Ukraine, that has now entered its fifth year.
His sister, Darline Graham, who succeeded him in the Senate, said the bill “hits (Russian President Vladimir) Putin where it hurts.” Democrat Richard Blumenthal, who pressed for the bill’s passage along with Graham, for over a year, said, ” Today, President (Volodymyr) Zelensky is watching from Ukraine – and Putin is watching from Moscow.””Today we say to the people of Ukraine: You are not alone. And today we say to Vladimir Putin: You will not conquer Ukraine,” he added.
The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives. Republicans manage the voting schedule there, making identical passage the final step before President Donald Trump signs it into law.
The bipartisan bill passed allows Donald Trump to impose tariffs on the world’s top five purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas. Besides India and China, Azerbaijan, Hungary, and Slovakia are in the list that will be affected by the new bill. However, it also includes exceptions for countries that import less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia and are taking steps to reduce those imports.
The legislation also includes sanctions on Putin, senior Russian political leaders, Russian financial institutions, and Russian energy projects.It authorizes the Senate to waive sanctions or restrictions with the President’s certify to Congress that it is in national interest.
The Senate vote came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Capitol hours after Graham’s funeral. He met senators from both parties and watched from the gallery as the Senate took the first procedural votes on the legislation last week.
Graham and Blumenthal had announced a deal with the White House on the sanctions bill on July 10 after more than a year of negotiations. Graham, who had just returned from Ukraine, died suddenly the next day, likely from an aortic tear.
How did India react to this?
New Delhi has called such moves unfair since other countries soak up Russian exports. It has also stated that its energy purchases are guided by its energy security needs.They have urged their American counterparts to grant New Delhi better trade terms than rivals like Bangladesh and Indonesia. Previously, India faced a 25 per cent additional levy that was removed after trade negotiations.