Overview
- The Senate approved the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act by a wide bipartisan vote on Friday, Aug. 7, sending the package to the House for further action.
- If enacted, the law would let the president direct the U.S. Trade Representative to set punitive tariffs up to 100% on the five largest importers of Russian crude or gas and on key facilitators of sanctions evasion.
- The bill also expands primary and secondary sanctions on Russian officials, banks, state-owned companies and the ‘shadow fleet’ while extending U.S. Iran sanctions through 2031.
- Lawmakers wrote broad presidential waiver authority into the text so the president can suspend or lift tariffs and sanctions with a written national-interest certification to Congress, a feature that critics say could blunt the pressure on Moscow.
- Major unresolved questions include how USTR would set and sequence rates, the risk of legal challenges given past court rulings on executive tariff use, and diplomatic and economic fallout for targets such as India and China that could face higher costs for U.S. trade.