The bill mandates a minimum 500% tariff on all goods from any country found knowingly purchasing Russian oil

US President Donald Trump departs after he delivered remarks at the House Republican Party (GOP) member retreat at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2026. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump will allow a bipartisan sanctions bill targeting countries doing business with Russia to move forward in Congress and it could be put to a vote as early as next week, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Wednesday.

Graham said in a statement Trump had "greenlit" the legislation after the pair met on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

The legislation, which Graham has been working on with fellow Republicans and Democrats for months, would impose sanctions on countries doing business with Russia, including buyers of its energy exports, over Moscow's failure to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

"This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin's war machine," Graham said, citing China, India and Brazil as potential targets of the legislation.

Graham, a senator from South Carolina, said he is looking forward to a "strong bipartisan vote" on the legislation to take place as early as next week.

Leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives have held off bringing the legislation to a vote as Trump has preferred to impose tariffs on goods imported from India, the world's second-leading buyer of Russian oil after China.

A US official told Reuters in November that Trump would sign the legislation if it passed, but would insist on specific language ensuring he remained in control of the sanctions.

Talks aimed at bringing the almost four-year war in Ukraine to an end have accelerated since November. The US on Tuesday backed a broad coalition of Ukraine's allies in vowing to provide security guarantees that leaders said would include binding commitments to support the country if Russia attacks again.

However, Moscow has yet to signal willingness to make concessions after Kyiv pushed for changes to a US proposal that initially backed Russia's main demands. Moscow has also given no public sign that it would accept a peace deal with the security guarantees envisaged by Ukraine's allies.

What is the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025?

This bill imposes penalties on certain persons (individuals and entities) if the President determines that the Russian government or a person acting at Russia's direction is involved with (1) refusing to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine; (2) violating a negotiated peace agreement; (3) initiating another invasion of Ukraine; or (4) overthrowing, dismantling, or seeking to subvert the Ukrainian government.

If the President makes such a determination, the bill requires certain actions including

• The President must impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on specified persons such as the Russian president, certain Russian military commanders, and any foreign person that knowingly provides defense items to the Russian armed forces;
• The President must increase the rate of duty on all goods and services imported from Russia into the United States to at least 500% relative to the value of such goods and services;
• The President must increase the rate of duty on all goods and services imported into the United States from countries that knowingly engage in the exchange of Russian-origin uranium and petroleum products to at least 500% relative to the value of such goods and services;
• The Department of the Treasury must impose property-blocking sanctions on any financial institution organized under Russian law and owned wholly or partly by Russia, and any financial institution that engages in transactions with those entities; and
• The Department of Commerce must prohibit the export, reexport, or in-country transfer to or in Russia of any U.S.-produced energy or energy product.