Why was the bill rewritten?
In the first version of the bill, which Lindsey Graham introduced more than a year ago, the tariff on goods and services from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium or petroleum products was set at 500%.
In practice, this would work like this: if India buys Russian oil and at the same time exports textiles, medicines or steel to the US, the American importer would have to pay an additional tariff of 500% of the value of the goods.
That is, a product worth $100 for the end consumer in the US would become more expensive by $600, not including other payments in favor of the state. In practice, this would mean an almost complete cessation of US trade with these countries.
It was this provision that caused the greatest resistance in the Trump administration. Critics emphasized that such tariffs could harm American partners and global trade in general. In addition, the White House did not like the mechanism for applying sanctions itself.
The first version of the bill effectively obliged the president to impose restrictions if a country, company or person fell within the criteria of the law. The Trump administration insisted that the president could decide for himself when to impose them and when to postpone or suspend them.
What has changed?
The main concession to the White House is that secondary duties will not be automatic and will not reach 500%. In the current version, the president can impose duties of the amount he determines (but not more than 100%) on goods from countries that continue to buy Russian energy resources. If we focus on the current structure of Russian exports, we are primarily talking about India and China. After 2022, they will become the main buyers of Russian oil.
Although India almost never bought Russian oil before the full-scale invasion — its share in total imports did not exceed 2%. But in just two years, Russia has become Indiaʼs largest supplier of oil, and the value of purchases has increased more than twentyfold — from approximately $2.3 billion in 2021 to almost $53 billion in 2024.
China was one of the largest buyers of Russian oil until 2022, but after the start of the full-scale war, it increased its purchases even more. If in 2022 it imported about 86 million tons of oil from Russia for $58 billion, then in 2024 it will already have more than 108 million tons for $62.6 billion. Now every sixth barrel of oil that China imports is Russian.
The largest importers of Russian natural gas are China, France, Japan, Hungary, and Belgium.
To prevent American allies from falling under sanctions, the document provides exceptions for countries whose share of Russian gas is less than 15% of total imports and who prove that they are gradually abandoning it.
The easing does not apply to Russia itself — the bill still provides for a 500 percent tariff on Russian goods entering the American market.
In 2025, the United States imported goods from Russia worth just over $4 billion, compared to $17.7 billion in 2021. Among the main items are fertilizers, enriched uranium for American nuclear power plants, as well as metals: platinum, aluminum, titanium, and nickel.
Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal during a visit to Kyiv, May 30, 2025.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Is Grahamʼs bill just about tariffs, or is there something else?
Secondary duties are only part of the bill. To a large extent, it changes the US approach to sanctions.
After the start of the full-scale war, most US sanctions against Russian officials, banks, and state-owned companies were imposed by presidential decrees.
Grahamʼs bill proposes to enshrine the restrictions in federal law. This way, the president will no longer be able to simply repeal them by his own decree. To do so, the law itself would have to be changed through Congress.
The document also significantly expands the list of individuals and companies that may be subject to secondary sanctions. While previously the US restrictions mainly concerned Russian officials, banks and companies (and this list may grow), they can now be extended to any foreign individuals and legal entities that help Russia circumvent the sanctions regime.
In particular, these include owners and operators of tankers of the shadow fleet, companies that organize the transshipment of Russian oil at sea, insurers of such transportation, port operators, as well as suppliers of military or dual-use goods to Russia.
Will Trump support "hellish sanctions" against Russia?
The longest negotiations between the billʼs authors and the White House concerned the presidentʼs powers. One of the Trump administrationʼs key demands was to give him more freedom to apply sanctions.
As a result, a waiver mechanism was added to the document, which allows the president to temporarily not apply certain sanctions or postpone them for up to 180 days if he believes that it is in the national interest of the United States.
The president must notify Congress in writing of such a decision and explain his reasons. A separate vote by Congress is not required for this. After the 180 days, the postponement can be extended if the same reasons remain.
Trump himself expressed confidence that the bill would pass: "This is in honor of Lindsey. This was his thing. He wanted it more than anything. You know he thought about it, and thereʼs a good chance it will get done."
The US President Donald Trump listens to Senator Lindsey Graham in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, February 3, 2026. “It is clear that the pressure we are putting on Putin to come to the negotiating table and stop his massive attacks on Ukraine is not working,” Graham wrote at the time in X.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
Trump proposed adding Iran and Hezbollah to this bill. Why?
During the presentation of the bill, Donald Trump unexpectedly stated that the document could be expanded to include sanctions against Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. According to him, this would be a "very big deal". He also linked the idea to honoring the memory of Lindsey Graham, who was one of the most consistent supporters of a tough policy not only towards Russia, but also towards Iran.
The billʼs co-sponsors opposed it. Senator Richard Blumenthal said that the document had been negotiated between Democrats, Republicans and the White House for almost two years, and any amendments could reopen negotiations and, accordingly, delay the vote.
Moreover, there is no separate need to add Iran. The current wording already allows for sanctions and secondary duties to be applied to any states or companies that assist the Russian military-industrial complex. This means that if Iranian structures cooperate with Russia in the military sphere, they will still fall under the new law.
Will the bill be voted on?
Some Democrats opposed the bill. Congressman Don Bayer explains that the document could significantly expand the presidentʼs powers. The debate arose after the US Supreme Court ruled a few months ago that some of the global tariffs imposed by Donald Trumpʼs executive orders were illegal.
This was the "reciprocal tariffs" policy that Trump reported in 2025. It provided for a basic tariff of 10% on all imports, and for individual countries — significantly higher rates, for example, 34% for China, 20% for the EU and 46% for Vietnam. The court ruled that the president exceeded his powers when he actually changed the customs policy without the direct permission of Congress.
Grahamʼs bill, however, explicitly allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from countries that buy Russian energy. Critics fear that this could once again expand the White Houseʼs role in customs policy, which the court has just limited.
At the same time, the bill has already been supported by more than 60 senators, both Republicans and Democrats. This is important, because 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate are usually needed to stop debate and proceed to a vote. For the final adoption of the bill, a simple majority of 51 votes is enough.
The main uncertainty is when exactly this will happen. Richard Blumenthal suggests that the Senate will have time to consider the bill before lawmakers go on vacation on August 10.
After approval by the Senate, the document will be sent to the House of Representatives. There, it will be reviewed by specialized committees, after which it will be put to a vote of the entire House. There, 218 votes out of 435 will be required. If the House of Representatives approves the text without changes, it will be sent to the president for signature.