A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday introduced a bill that would impose sanctions on Russian energy purchases if the Kremlin refuses to engage in good-faith negotiations for ending the war in Ukraine.
The 50 Republicans and Democrats, led by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, said their bill would impose a 500% tariff on imported goods from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and a number of other unspecified products.
China and India have been among the top buyers of Russian oil since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, while the EU remains the main importer of Russian natural gas. The U.S. and China were the biggest importers of Russian Uranium in 2023.
Other primary sanctions in the newly introduced bill would ban U.S. citizens from purchasing Russian sovereign debt and U.S. financial institutions from investing in entities linked to the Russian state, according to Bloomberg News, which obtained a draft of the proposed legislation.
Bloomberg noted that, given the likelihood of a “confrontation” with India and China over the secondary sanctions, as well as the “difficult position” for the EU, the bill grants presidential waivers for national security reasons.
In a joint statement, Senators Graham and Blumenthal said that the primary and secondary sanctions could also be imposed if Russia violates a future peace deal with Ukraine.
“These sanctions against Russia are at the ready and will receive overwhelming bipartisan, bicameral support if presented to the Senate and House for a vote,” the statement read.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives plans to introduce companion legislation, but the senators’ statement did not indicate when a vote was expected.
The rare bipartisan congressional effort follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat on Sunday to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil in response to President Vladimir Putin’s demand to replace Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as part of the peace talks.
Moscow has responded by saying that Putin remains open to talks with Trump. On Wednesday, it reiterated that stance while accusing Ukraine of violating a U.S.-mediated agreement to pause attacks on energy facilities.
“We’ll continue our work with the Americans. We’ll patiently communicate to them the real state of affairs and Kyiv’s unwillingness to do anything for peace,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Wednesday.
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