Senators Urge White House to Accept Secondary Tariffs Bill
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the leading Republican for a secondary tariffs bill supported by 85 senators, said that he talked to President Donald Trump on Sept. 11 about "moving forward" with secondary tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and gas. He said he was encouraging him to look upon the Russia sanctions bill as something that would help him, "basically, giving him the authority to do what he's doing, which would help him in court."
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"He is very intent on making China pay," Graham said at a press conference at the Capitol. "He's in discussions with Europe. I talked to Ursula [von der Leyen], the EU commissioner, this morning. At this point, he's trying to get Europe to do more to follow our lead. I've heard Europeans say, well, the Chinese, they buy a lot of high-end goods. Too bad. We've got to let that mentality go, and put China and India in a box to get Putin to the table."
Graham, in response to a question from International Trade Today, also said he'd be talking to Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., about when to schedule a vote on the secondary tariffs bill, in light of the conversation he had with Trump.
Graham said he wants China, India and Brazil, which he said "prop up Putin's war machine" by buying Russian fossil fuels, to think twice about that choice through imposing tariffs on their goods.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the lead Democrat on the Russia sanctions bill, said, "I call on the Majority Leader to give us a vote on the sanctions bill. After this [Russian drones] incursion in Poland, the time is now to show strength. What we're watching right now in Europe is a slow-motion Munich. Appeasement is not a strategy. We need scorching sanctions that will cripple Putin's economy by stopping the flow of money from India, China, Brazil and others who are buying Russian oil and gas. The best way to bring Putin to the table and to seek peace is to choke his economy, and that's the goal of our sanctions bill, which we hope will actually inspire President Trump to continue what he is doing as he imposed sanctions on India. More action is important now, more important than ever."
The press conference was to promote a bill that would list Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, which does not directly affect Russian exports to the U.S. -- however, Graham said it would make doing business with Russian suppliers "radioactive."
The men credited Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., for proposing the bill, which requires that Russia be listed as a state sponsor of terrorism within 60 days, unless the Ukrainian children who are being held in Russia and occupied territories of Ukraine are returned to family members in free Ukraine. Some children were sent to a summer camp to get away from the war in Ukraine, but then not returned. Some were in group homes in areas that became occupied, and moved to Russia proper. Some were orphaned during the conquest of their towns, but have living relatives in free Ukraine. Some of those children have been adopted by Russian families, others are in orphanages. Klobuchar and Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., also participated in the event. Britt said, "It is clear that Putin will never do the right thing without being forced to."