Arabic version: مجلس الشيوخ يمضي بمشروع عقوبات على روسيا يمنح صلاحيات جمركية

According to The Guardian, the US Senate voted 86 to 12 to advance the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, legislation that would give Donald Trump new authority to impose tariffs while targeting Russia and Iran.

The bill’s revised language would allow the executive to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five purchasers of Russian oil and gas, as well as 100% tariffs on the top five countries found to be “facilitating” evasion of sanctions on Russian oil. Supporters have argued that restricting oil revenue would weaken Russia’s ability to fund its war against Ukraine.

Senator Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, said he had changed his position and would oppose the revised measure because its tariff provisions were too broad. He said the original Graham-Blumenthal proposal had contained a limited and specific delegation of congressional tariff authority aimed solely at reducing Russian oil revenue.

Welch said the new wording lacked specificity about which countries could be classified as facilitators and what conduct could meet that definition. He warned that it could amount to a blanket delegation of congressional tariff authority to the executive, allowing any country to be targeted for tariffs. Welch said he planned to propose an amendment before the bill receives a final vote.

Georgia Democratic senator Jon Ossoff was among the senators voting against advancing the bill. A spokesperson said Ossoff supported Ukraine’s self-defense against Russian aggression but opposed provisions delegating “massive new tariff authorities” to a president whom the spokesperson said had used tariffs recklessly and destructively. The other opponents included 10 senators who caucus with Democrats and Republican Rand Paul.