Lawmaker Wants Senate to Vote on Russia Sanctions Bill Before G7 Meeting
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said late Oct. 7 that he hopes to have the Senate take up his Russia sanctions and tariff bill by month’s end to send a message to next month’s Group of Seven foreign ministers meeting in Canada.
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“I want to get this in place to show European parliaments we have President [Donald] Trump’s back, that we are supporting the idea of using tariffs to end the war,” Graham told Export Compliance Daily. “Europe has been very reluctant to do anything about China and India. I think a big bipartisan vote would create momentum.”
The Sanctioning Russia Act, which Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced in April, would impose a wide range of additional sanctions on Russia, as well as new tariffs on countries that buy its oil and gas, including China and India (see 2504020003).
Graham said he would also like to see an October vote on a bill he and Blumenthal announced in September to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism until it returns more than 19,000 children it abducted during its invasion of Ukraine (see 2509110057). The legislation is designed to make “it very difficult for you to do any above-board business with Russia,” Graham said last month.
He also wants to see action this month on several other Russia measures, including legislation aimed at transferring Russian assets to Ukraine (see 2509230056).