“This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivise them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who worked on the bill with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, said in a statement.
“This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fuelling Putin’s war machine,” he said.
Graham said Trump ‘greenlit’ the legislation. He said the bill could be brought up for a bipartisan vote as early as next week.
The legislation proposes wide-ranging penalties on individuals and entities connected to Russia. A key provision includes increasing duties on all goods and services imported from Russia into the United States to at least 500 per cent of their value.
Another clause calls for a 500-per cent duty on goods and services imported from countries that "knowingly engage in the exchange of Russian-origin uranium and petroleum products", according to the US Congress website.
Last August, the US administration imposed an additional 25-per cent tariff on Indian exports for purchasing Russian crude, taking the overall tariff burden to 50 per cent.
New Delhi has repeatedly stated that its energy purchases are linked to national interest and affordability.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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