DOMINANT ANGLE
The United States government hands Trump a tariff weapon held in reserve: Congress validates customs duties of up to 100% on buyers of Russian oil to exert pressure on Beijing and New Delhi, more so than it immediately sanctions Moscow.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The Chamber adopted the text by 262 votes to 159 on September 16, after a Senate vote of 86 to 11 in August.
- 02
The law authorizes customs duties of up to 100% on the top five buyers of Russian oil or gas, with an exemption for countries importing less than 15% of their gas from Russia and reducing these purchases.
- 03
Ronak D. Desai, of the Hoover Institution, estimates that Trump "will sign this law and keep his tariff authority in reserve as leverage" rather than immediately taxing China and India.
ANALYSIS
Washington, September 18, 2026. After more than a year and a half of negotiations, the House of Representatives adopted on Wednesday, by 262 votes to 159, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, already validated by the Senate in August by 86 votes to 11. The text bears the name of the Republican senator who died suddenly in July, shortly after a trip to Kyiv where he had announced an agreement with the White House to move it forward. It is now headed to Donald Trump's desk, who has already supported it.
The law authorizes the president to impose customs duties of up to 100% on the top five buyers of Russian oil or gas, led by China and India, with an exemption for countries importing less than 15% of their gas from Russia and reducing these purchases in a "significant" way. It also sanctions Russian officials, banks, the "ghost fleet" of oil tankers, and extends the Iran Sanctions Act until 2031.
The vote blurred party lines: the Democratic leadership opposed it, fearing an extension of the president's tariff powers, while 58 Democratic lawmakers voted for it and seven Republicans against. Representatives Gregory Meeks, Don Beyer, and Richard Neal warned that the text "would do more harm than good". House Speaker Mike Johnson hailed "a powerful message of American unity".
For several analysts cited by the American press, the issue is not immediate application. Ronak D. Desai, of the Hoover Institution, anticipates that Trump "will sign this law and keep his tariff authority in reserve as a lever". The Center for Strategic and International Studies notes that the text replaces the uniform 500% customs duty of the 2025 version with "a more measured instrument". The Atlantic goes further, judging that "the text is not what it seems to be": according to the magazine, it imposes no new significant sanctions and allows Trump to lift the measures himself in the name of national interest, while restoring some of his tariff power that the Supreme Court had taken away from him in February.
China and India, which have shown no signs of wanting to reduce their purchases of Russian crude, may therefore first face diplomatic pressure held in reserve rather than immediate taxation.
