NEW DELHI: In a rare bipartisan show of support, the US Senate has advanced legislation that would significantly tighten sanctions on Russia and give President Donald Trump the authority to impose steep tariffs on countries buying Russian oil and gas, including India and China.
The bill, cleared in a procedural vote by 86-12, is the strongest congressional push yet to increase economic pressure on Moscow over Ukraine conflict. It also extends sanctions targeting Iran’s financial and weapons sectors.
The proposed legislation, backed by both Republicans and Democrats and supported by Trump, would allow the president to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent’ on imports from the world’s five largest purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas. While the bill specifically targets major buyers such as India and China, it leaves the decision on whether to impose tariffs and at what level to the president's discretion.
The measure also proposes sanctions against Russian officials, oligarchs, financial institutions and the so-called “shadow fleet” of vessels used to circumvent restrictions on Moscow’s oil exports. The vote came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met senators on Capitol Hill during a visit to honour the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch supporter of Ukraine and co-author of the legislation, who died earlier this month.
Defending the bill, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, its co-author, said the focus was on countries financing Russia's war through energy purchases. “To be really blunt, China and India are the main culprits here,” Blumenthal told reporters. “They purchase the vast majority of oil and gas. They are fueling Russia's war machine and they are doing us no favors anywhere else in the world.”
Republican Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the sanctions sought to strike at Russia's economic lifeline. A bipartisan group of senators described the legislation as an effort to curb Russia's war funding while maintaining pressure on Iran.
Despite broad support, several lawmakers raised concerns over the sweeping powers the bill would hand to the White House on tariffs.
Democratic Senator Peter Welch, who voted against advancing the measure, warned that the legislation lacked clear limits on the president's authority. The bill must still clear a final Senate vote, pass the House of Representatives, and be signed by President Trump before becoming law. If enacted, it would mark one of the most expansive US sanctions packages against Russia since the beginning of Ukraine conflict, while potentially exposing major Russian energy importers, including India, to new US tariffs.
