US President Donald Trump has approved a proposal to impose tariffs of up to 500 percent on India, China and Brazil for buying fuel oil and uranium from Russia, US Senator Lindsey Graham confirmed in a statement on Thursday.
The proposed law, called the Graham-Blumenthal Sanctions Bill, would impose tough second-tier sanctions on countries that knowingly buy Russian oil, gas or uranium to bolster their military capabilities. If passed, the bill would give the US president the power to impose tariffs of up to 500 percent on goods from these countries entering the US market.
Currently, US tariffs of 50 percent are in effect on India and Brazil and 30 percent on China. These tariffs will increase manifold if the new bill goes into effect.
Senator Graham said the bill was discussed at a meeting with President Trump at the White House and that Trump supported it. He said the bill is timely in the context of Ukraine making concessions for peace while Russia continues to attack.
Graham said the bill could begin voting in Congress next week. According to the rules, if it passes the House of Representatives and then the Senate, it will become law with the president’s signature.