US Senate Prepares for Max 100% Tariff on China and India for Oil and Gas Import from Russia

Ø Next HOR will Vote on the Bill

[ABS News Service/10.08.2026]

After more than six months of negotiations between a White House seeking to preserve diplomatic flexibility with Moscow and a bipartisan Congress demanding a stronger response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Senate on Friday overwhelmingly approved the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026.

The measure passed 86-11, reflecting one of the broadest bipartisan foreign policy votes of President Trump's second term. It now awaits House action when lawmakers return from the August recess.

Substantial Sanctions Expansion

The legislation substantially expands US sanctions authorities against Russia while creating a new tariff mechanism aimed at countries that continue financing Moscow's war through purchases of Russian energy. The bill authorizes the President to impose tariffs on the world's largest purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas, including China and India, sanctions additional Russian financial institutions and energy projects, and targets the “shadow fleet” of aging tankers used to circumvent existing sanctions.

The final package reflects extensive negotiations with the White House. It preserves broad presidential waiver authority, allowing the President to suspend sanctions or tariff measures upon certifying to Congress that doing so serves the national interest.

President Trump has not issued a formal statement following Senate passage, but his Administration supported the negotiated compromise after months of discussions over preserving executive flexibility in negotiations with Moscow. The White House's backing proved essential to securing Republican support and moving the legislation to the Senate floor.

The vote came days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House and later met privately with senators on Capitol Hill following Graham's funeral.

Mr. Zelenskyy publicly thanked Congress for advancing the legislation, calling sanctions “a big signal to Europe, big signal to Ukraine” that the United States remains committed to resisting Russian aggression.

Sen. Wyden, ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, argued Congress should not expand presidential tariff authority, while Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga) supported the final package after receiving written assurances from US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that tariffs would terminate once countries no longer qualified as major purchasers of Russian energy or facilitators of sanctions evasion.

Two key House Democrats said the legislation is “unacceptable” with the broad tariff authority included. “What the bill does grant, however, are sweeping new tariff authorities that the president could weaponize with abandon, as he has repeatedly done in the past. President Trump just last month recklessly imposed new 50 percent tariffs on our closest trading partner, Canada; there is no reason to believe he would not use the even larger tariffs authorized by this bill in a manner similarly harmful to our alliances and Americans’ wallets,” Democrats Greg Meeks (NY) and Don Beyer (Va) said in a statement.

If enacted, the measure would represent the most significant expansion of US sanctions authorities against Russia since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and establish a new statutory framework combining sanctions with tariff-based economic pressure on third countries that continue supporting Russia's energy exports.