US House passes sanctions bill giving Trump power to tariff Russian energy imports, targets Russian banks and tanker fle
Topic: geopoliticsRegion: North AmericaUpdated: i2 outletsSources: 6Spectrum: Mostly Center⏱ 3 min read
Story Summary
SITUATION
The United States House of Representatives passed a bipartisan sanctions bill targeting Russia and sent the measure to US President Donald Trump’s desk after a 262-159 vote. The law gives the president new authority to impose tariffs up to 100% on countries importing Russian energy and sanctions officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers.
Coveragetap to expand ▾Spectrum: Mostly Center🌍ME: 1 · Asia: 1
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i2 outlets · Center
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Left: 1
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i2 unique outlets · Dominant: Middle East
KEY FACTS
- The United States House of Representatives voted 262 to 159 to pass the sanctions bill and sent it to US President Donald Trump’s desk.
- The bill had already passed in the US Senate before the House vote.
- The legislation would give the president the ability to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that import energy supplies from Russia, with China and India named as examples in the text.
- The measure would impose sanctions on Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been pushing for the bill’s passage and made a direct appeal to senators shortly before they passed it.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The immediate backdrop is the long-running confrontation between Western states and the Russian Federation that escalated after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022; that invasion followed months of military buildup along Ukraine’s borders and precipitated sweeping Western financial, trade and export-control measures aimed at degrading Russia’s economic and military capacity.
Those 2022 measures built on an earlier cycle of penalties imposed after Moscow’s 2014 seizure of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine: Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled Kyiv on February 22, 2014, Crimea held a disputed referendum on March 16, 2014, and Russia signed a treaty of accession for Crimea on March 18, 2014, actions that immediately triggered EU and U.S. restrictive measures.
Sources
4 of 4 linked articles
Congress passes sweeping US sanctions bill targeting Russia
aljazeera.comSep 17Center
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US Congress passes sweeping Russia sanctions Bill
channelnewsasia.comSep 16Center
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Congress approves sweeping sanctions on Russia and Iran, sending bill to Trump’s desk
deseret.comSep 16Left
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WATCH LIVE: House passes sweeping Russia sanctions bill, sending it to Trump - pbs.org
pbs.orgSep 16Left
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