Photo: Collected
The much-discussed ‘Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026’, which contains stringent provisions, has been passed in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the US Congress. The bill is now in the process of reaching President Donald Trump to await his signature for final approval. If the law takes effect, a major new tariff risk will be created for several countries facing US sanctions, including India. Washington has taken this extreme step mainly to crush the Kremlin’s economy and cut off the supply of money to Russia for the Ukraine war.
According to legislative sources, the bill, which had earlier been passed in the Senate, got the final green signal in the House of Representatives by a vote of 262-159. It is being seen as the biggest and most aggressive step by the United States to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty since Trump returned to the White House for his second term. Under the proposed law, the president will get the sole power to impose, if he wishes, additional tariffs of up to 100 percent on countries that are keeping Moscow’s economy running by buying electricity, oil or gas from Russia.
However, the bill’s journey on Capitol Hill was not smooth at all. A number of obstacles and sharp political differences emerged in the process of its passage. In particular, a large section of House Democrats strongly opposed the bill. They alleged that this law will give President Trump boundless power to impose tariffs in an unchecked manner, which is feared to be abused.
At one stage of the debate and discussion on amendments, Democratic Congress member Steny Hoyer moved a special amendment proposal. Its main purpose was to clearly mention the names of certain countries under the secondary tariff structure. In it, 10 countries – China, India, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Singapore, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan and Slovakia – were directly identified, on which tariffs of up to a possible 100 percent may be imposed.
