In a recent development, the US President has given a positive signal to the bipartisan Russian Sanctions bill, which will penalise the trading partners of Russia, including India, Brazil, and China, over their trade in Russian oil. This was announced by the Republican senator Lindsey Graham.
The Graham-Blumenthal bill, if passed, will give the US government the power to levy up to 500% tariff on the trade partners who are knowingly buying Russian oil or uranium, and allegedly fuelling “Vladimir Putin’s war machine”. The main aim of the bill is to cripple the economy of Moscow, as the US government continues to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine and Russia over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The bill has been in work for a month now, and Graham, who is behind the process, stated that he met the President on Wednesday and he acknowledged and supported the bill. A White House official also confirmed the news while interacting with the Associated Press.
Graham has further said that a vote on the bill can be made soon, in the upcoming weeks. The bill was drafted by Graham and the Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, which allows the US authorities to impose tariffs and additional sanctions on the trading partners of Russia to cut the source of financing for Russia.
As per earlier reports, the White House has insisted on making changes to the bill to make it flexible, but any changes made to the extent have not been notified as of now. The bill has been sponsored by many other members and also has a companion bill drafted by Republican representative Fitzpatrick.
The Ukraine-Russia war has been going on for almost four years now, and the United States has tried to ink a peace deal with Ukraine, with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff as the main negotiators from the US.
