USA · · 3 min read
Trump signs Russia sanctions bill targeting war revenues
The new US law targets Russian officials, banks and oil exports while giving Donald Trump broader authority to impose tariffs on major buyers of Russian energy.
US President Donald Trump has signed a broad sanctions law aimed at reducing the money and international trade links that sustain Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to reporting by Euronews.
The legislation targets Russian officials, financial institutions and a network of tankers used to move the country’s energy exports around existing Western restrictions. It also gives the administration a new option to impose tariffs of as much as 100% on the five largest purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas.
The measure cleared Congress with substantial support from both parties. Senators approved it by 86 votes to 11, while the House passed it 262-159. Its signing completes a legislative effort that had been under development for more than a year.
A measure shaped by Graham’s death
The law was closely associated with the late Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican and prominent Trump ally who had returned from a visit to Ukraine shortly before his unexpected death in July. Its passage has therefore become a final part of his Senate record and a public expression of the pressure campaign he had worked to build against Moscow.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who helped write the bill, linked its progress directly to Graham’s work. After the House approved the measure, Blumenthal said Graham would have welcomed the result and would probably already have been considering further action. He also argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin responds to displays of power rather than diplomatic weakness.
Graham’s sister, Darline Graham, was appointed to serve the remainder of his Senate term, which runs until 3 January 2027. In a statement issued after the signing, she said her brother believed economic pressure could help bring the conflict to an end by making it harder for Russia to fund the fighting and encouraging countries that buy its energy to reconsider those relationships.
Pressure on Russia and its customers
The central purpose of the law is to restrict the resources available to Moscow more than four years after Russia invaded neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. Alongside measures against government officials and banks, it addresses the so-called shadow fleet: tankers that help Russian energy reach international markets despite sanctions imposed by Western countries.
The tariff provision extends the pressure beyond Russia itself. Countries that rank among the five biggest importers of Russian oil or gas could face punitive duties of up to 100%. The law includes an exception for nations that receive less than 15% of Russia’s natural-gas exports and have made significant efforts to reduce that dependence.
That arrangement reflects the bill’s wider objective: to make continued purchases of Russian energy more costly, while preserving an exemption for countries that have already taken meaningful steps to cut their reliance. The legislation is intended to affect both the revenue earned by Moscow and the decisions made by its overseas customers.
Concerns over presidential authority
The law’s strong congressional margins did not eliminate objections. Some Democratic lawmakers supported a harder response to Russia but raised concerns about the powers granted to Trump, particularly the ability to use tariffs against countries and trading blocs outside Russia.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries questioned why Congress should give the president such broad discretion to impose additional duties on the global economy. His criticism focused on the possibility that the authority could lead to new tariffs on the European Union and other jurisdictions, with consequences for people in the United States.
The White House had also been cautious during the bill’s development. Trump’s administration wanted to preserve enough room to decide when and how sanctions would be applied, creating uncertainty about whether the president would ultimately endorse the package. The final version gained his approval after incorporating a provision sought by Trump that allows his administration to prolong sanctions on Iran for another five years.
The signing leaves the United States with a wider sanctions and tariff framework for confronting Russia’s war effort. Its impact will depend not only on the restrictions placed on Russian entities, but also on whether major energy buyers alter their commercial ties with Moscow and how the administration uses its new powers.