Trump approves US bill allowing 500% tariffs on countries like India buying Russian oil, escalating pressure amid Ukraine conflict.

US President Donald Trump has “greenlit” the bipartisan Russia Sanctions Bill, which may be used to penalize Moscow’s trading allies, including India, China, and Brazil, for purchasing Russian oil, according to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a known defense hawk.

If implemented, the Graham-Blumenthal sanctions measure would allow the US President to slap tariffs of up to 500 percent on nations who knowingly acquire Russian oil or uranium and “fuel Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine”. The harsh sanctions package is intended to economically hurt Moscow while the Trump administration negotiates a compromise to end the war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Graham said he visited with Trump at the White House on Wednesday, and the President expressed his support for the plan, which has been in the works for months. A White House official verified the development while speaking with the Associated Press.

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“This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent,” Graham wrote in a press release.

Graham suggested that a vote may take place as early as next week, however it is unclear how realistic this is. If the House passes the scaled-back government budget bill, the Senate will take it up next week. The Senate will go on recess the following week to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

About the Russia Sanctions Bill

The law, mostly drafted by Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, authorizes the administration to apply tariffs and secondary penalties of up to 500 percent on countries that buy Russia’s oil, gas, uranium, and other products. This is intended to cut off the source of funding for much of Russia’s military operations.

The White House has previously requested amendments and flexibility for Trump in the sanctions package, but it is unclear whether any changes were made.

The legislation has dozens of Senate cosponsors and a House companion bill drafted by Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick.

The Trump administration is currently negotiating a peace accord to end the almost four-year-old war in Ukraine, with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, serving as the president’s principal negotiators.