The U.S. Senate has approved new sanctions against Russia. It may be difficult for the bill to pass the full Congress.

The U.S. Senate has approved a sweeping sanctions bill against Russia that allows for the imposition of heavy tariffs on China, India, and other major buyers of Russian oil and gas, and extends sanctions against Iran, according to Bloomberg. The bill now faces consideration in the House of Representatives. The legislation authorizes the U.S. president to impose tariffs on China and India, among others, but does not require him to do so.

The bill received support from both parties and was passed by a vote of 86 to 11. One of the bill’s leading supporters was Senator Lindsey Graham, who passed away in July.

According to the text of the document published on July 28, the U.S. president will be authorized to impose tariffs of 500% on imports of Russian goods into the United States and import duties of 100% on the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas, as well as the five main countries that help Russia circumvent sanctions. The new authority to impose tariffs will remain in effect for five years.

In addition, the document extends the 1996 Iran Sanctions Act through 2031. This law imposes secondary economic sanctions on companies outside the United States that do business with Iran. Without this extension, it was set to expire this year.

The bill has yet to be considered by the House of Representatives. Broad support for tougher sanctions against Russia may not be enough to secure passage in the lower chamber of Congress: some lawmakers fear that Trump’s new tariff powers could increase the burden on U.S. importers and consumers and weaken the Republicans’ position, Reuters reports.

The bill that was passed was significantly watered down by its authors compared to the version drafted last year in order to secure the U.S. president’s support, according to Bloomberg. Some Democratic lawmakers and Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul warned that Trump could use this law as a legal basis for imposing large-scale new tariffs on major U.S. trading partners, such as China and India, the agency explains. Paul’s amendment, which was intended to block the president from being granted these new powers, failed to pass, Bloomberg notes.

The question of whether Trump will exercise his new powers remains open, the agency notes: The White House has secured broad exemptions that give the president considerable discretion in deciding whether to implement the measures provided for by law.

The Trump administration had previously attempted to tighten sanctions against Russia, but it granted a number of temporary exemptions for oil shipments after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the war with Iran triggered a crisis in the oil market, Bloomberg notes. Last year, Trump imposed 25% tariffs on Indian goods due to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian energy resources, but later rescinded them to facilitate a broader trade agreement between the U.S. and India. China, one of the largest buyers of Russian oil, avoided such measures altogether, as Trump sought to contain trade tensions with Beijing, Bloomberg notes.

Trump's critics in the Democratic Party have warned that the sanctions bill will do little to change the situation unless the president changes course.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor