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USA16 September, 20262 min read

Trump Signs Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia And Iran Act, Imposes Up To 100% Tariffs

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House approved the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act by 262-159. Bill allows tariffs up to 100% on top buyers of Russian oil and gas.

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Trump Signs Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia And Iran Act, Imposes Up To 100% Tariffs
Image: صحيفة «لا

Graham Act Signed

President Donald Trump signed into law the “Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” a sweeping sanctions package targeting Russia over its war in Ukraine, after Congress sent the bill to the White House with rare bipartisan support. The legislation, signed on Friday, sanctions Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior officials and oligarchs, and Russian banks and financial institutions, while also targeting Moscow’s energy and defence sectors and the “shadow fleet” of tankers used to move Russian oil around Western sanctions.

A key provision gives Trump authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas, and the bill separately extends sanctions on Iran’s energy and weapons sectors. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had lobbied lawmakers ahead of the vote, called the legislation “an extremely powerful tool,” while House Speaker Mike Johnson said the bill placed “maximum pressure” on what he called “the Russian war machine.”

Image from 930 WFMD Free Talk
Image: 930 WFMD Free Talk
Reporting for this sectionAl Jazeera

Votes, Tariff Fight

The bill passed the Senate last month and the House on Wednesday, with 58 Democrats crossing party lines to back it, and it cleared Congress as the first major Ukraine-related bill to do so in more than two years. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries opposed the bill, warning that its tariff powers would raise costs for American families and calling its sanctions provisions full of “loopholes,” while Blumenthal said he hoped it would help bring Moscow to the table, telling Putin: “We have your number.”

In a separate account of the House vote, CNN Arabic said the House of Representatives approved the bill on Wednesday by a vote of 262 to 159, with dozens of Democrats voting in favor. CNN Arabic also said critics express concern that the bill grants Trump greater authority to impose new and sweeping tariffs, including tariffs of up to 100% on countries that purchase Russian oil and gas—including China and India.

Image from ABC News
Image: ABC News
Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraCNN Arabic

Pressure and Next Moves

The law is framed as a way to starve the Kremlin of the funds sustaining its war effort and push Putin towards negotiations, with Zelenskyy thanking Trump for signing and urging full and swift implementation of the provisions. DW reported that Zelenskyy wrote on X that “The best way to honor Lindsey's memory will be to implement the provisions of this law fully and swiftly,” and it also cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warning that additional U.S. sanctions would hinder efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution in Ukraine.

“‘The best way to honor Lindsey's memory will be to implement the provisions of this law fully and swiftly.”
DW

The sanctions package also sets a framework to maintain sanctions on Iran until 2031, while the U.S. president’s tariff authority is described as potentially straining U.S. trade relations with China and India, both of which buy significant amounts of Russian oil. Al Jazeera said Trump’s decision comes about a week before he is due to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House, as the legislation threatens tariffs on the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas.

Reporting for this sectionDWAl Jazeera