Senate Democrats Avoid Specifics on Tariffs Under Russian Sanctions Bill

As a Russia sanctions bill appears to have more momentum (see 2511170041), Democratic senators declined to say what tariff levels would be effective or appropriate if it becomes law.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he doesn't know when a vote would be held. "At this point, there's talk about the House going first, which would be fine with me. I'm hoping it will move right after Thanksgiving, if not before."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., at an afternoon press conference at the Capitol, declined to predict whether it could pass before the end of the year, but explained that the House of Representatives needs to act first, since the bill could raise taxes. "Revenue measures originate in the House," he said.

Thune said he feels this bill is a tool the White House needs to bring about peace in Ukraine, and he is pleased the president supports it.

We asked Blumenthal during a brief hallway interview at the Capitol if he'd like to see tariffs on China, Turkey, Hungary or India over their Russian oil purchases. (The administration has said it would except Hungary from any action.)

"We should use the [secondary] sanctions if they continue buying oil and gas," he said, later clarifying that those sanctions are tariffs. When asked whether he thought 100% tariffs would be appropriate, or 500%, he replied, "I'm reluctant to use a number at this point, which is the reason why we provided some flexibility. The general criteria ought to be that they should have real bite."

Blumenthal said he's encouraged that there have been "tangible effects" on the levels of Russian oil exports and the prices Russia is receiving for oil since the expansion of sanctions on Russian energy companies.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also avoided answering a question from us about the use of tariffs to stop the purchases of Russian oil. "The bottom line, there are 87 co-sponsors" for the bill, including Thune and himself, Schumer responded. "We've wanted to move the bill for a long time. Hopefully it can move. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has to be told in every way that he cannot be just a bully and overrun Ukraine."

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., had earlier in the day urged Congress to quickly pass the bill, called the Sanctioning Russia Act. Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies with Blumenthal, the bill’s other lead sponsor, Graham said the legislation would give President Donald Trump leverage to pressure Russia to end its war against Ukraine. He said he believes Russia is "incredibly exposed" because of its reliance on energy revenue to fund its war machine.

“If we don’t deliver, if we don’t get this bill out soon, we will have failed. We will have missed a great opportunity to change the course of this war,” Graham said. His comments came three days after Trump told reporters he is "OK with" the bill (see 2511170041).

Blumenthal said Trump’s support could be a “turning point” for the legislation, which the lawmakers introduced in April (see 2504020003). Before Trump’s statement, congressional leaders had held off on advancing the bill to allow the president to pursue a diplomatic solution.

During the panel discussion, Maria Snegovaya, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at CSIS, said “now is the moment to hit” Russia with new measures due to weakness in its economy. But she cautioned that the impact of such a move is still uncertain because Moscow has learned to circumvent existing Western sanctions, such as by deploying a shadow fleet of oil tankers.

“They know what we are after, and they are adjusting,” she said. “Basically, it’s a cat and mouse game in which it’s very unclear who’s winning.”