Washington: The US House of Representatives has passed a sweeping sanctions and tariff Bill intended to increase economic pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, sending the Bill to President Donald Trump to sign into law more than a year after the late Senator Lindsey Graham introduced it.
The Bill, now called the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026” to honour the South Carolina Republican, passed the Senate last month. The House passed it Wednesday by 262 to 159, as 58 Democrats broke with party leaders to join all but seven Republicans in favour.
The legislation targets Russia’s energy and defence industries, as well as its “shadow fleet” of tankers that evade existing sanctions, in order to deprive Moscow of funds used to pay for its war with Ukraine. It faced pushback because it also authorises Trump to impose stiff tariffs of up to 100% on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas, as well as to extend sanctions on Iran.
China has “consistently opposed long-arm jurisdiction that lacks a basis in international law and has not been authorised by the UN Security Council”, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson told a regular press conference Thursday when asked about the Bill. It is the most significant Ukraine-related legislation Congress has passed since Trump returned to the White House and his fellow Republicans took control of both houses of Congress in January 2025.
And it had faced considerable Opposition since Graham and dozens of other senators introduced it in April 2025. It took Trump until July 2026 — days before Graham’s sudden death July 11 — to allow Congress’ Republican leaders to schedule a vote.