House Passes Russia-Iran Sanctions Bill With 100% Tariffs
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping bipartisan sanctions and tariff package targeting Russia and Iran on Wednesday, sending the measure to President Donald Trump’s desk and handing him the power to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on major buyers of Russian energy.
A Rare Bipartisan Package
The legislation, formally titled the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026” (H.R. 5334), cleared the House by a 262-159 vote, CNBC reported. The Senate had approved it 86-11 in August. It is the first major pro-Ukraine measure passed by Congress in more than two years, according to Indian Express.
The bill is named for the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Washington’s most prominent supporters of Ukraine and the measure’s chief architect, who died in July 2026 at age 71. The Kyiv Post noted that Graham spent more than a year building support for the legislation before his death.
What the Bill Does
At the center of the package is a secondary-tariff mechanism aimed at countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas. The president would be able to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the top five purchasers of Russian crude oil or natural gas — a group that could include China and India, the two largest buyers of Russian energy.
Countries could be exempted if they import less than 15 percent of Russia’s total gas exports and have taken major steps to reduce such imports, according to The Paper. The U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, would decide final tariff levels.
The bill also sanctions Russian officials, banks, financial institutions, and energy-sector enterprises, and targets the “shadow fleet” of tankers used to move Russian oil below Western price caps. New U.S. investment in Russia would face restrictions. Under a separate provision, the bill authorizes sanctions against individuals involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children.
On Iran, the legislation broadens existing enforcement mechanisms against the country’s military and energy trade and extends Iran sanctions through 2031.
A Split Over Presidential Power
The vote exposed deep divisions over how much authority Congress should hand the White House on trade. Roughly ten Republicans privately urged House leadership to strip the tariff provisions amid midterm-election concerns about rising prices, but Speaker Mike Johnson refused. Fifty-eight Democrats broke ranks to support the bill, even as Democratic leadership opposed the expanded tariff powers.
“The Russia sanctions bill is a Trojan horse — unlikely to result in any new sanctions on Russia,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York. “At a moment when Americans are already facing soaring gas prices, rising mortgage rates, and high inflation, Congress cannot grant Trump more tariff power that we know he will abuse.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries asked during the debate: “Why on earth would Congress give this president additional power to inflict this kind of economic harm on the American people?” In a joint statement, Reps. Meeks, Don Beyer, and Richard Neal said the bill “would dramatically expand presidential tariff authorities while failing to mandate sanctions on Russia, both of which are unacceptable.”
Supporters countered that the tariff authority is limited and carefully designed. “When we look back at this moment in time, I want to be able to say that we used all the tools available to end this war,” said Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, “to cripple the Russian war machine and turn the tide toward peace.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who co-authored the bill, described the measures as “scorching sanctions” intended to “throttle Putin’s war machine.” Senator Jeanne Shaheen said the bill sends “a message to Vladimir Putin” and to countries helping Russia evade sanctions: “There are consequences.”
How Much Russian Energy Is at Stake?
China and India are the top two buyers of Russian crude oil and coal. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, between December 2022 and June 2026, China purchased 37 percent of all Russian coal exports and India 19 percent, Indian Express reported. For crude oil, China accounted for 50 percent of Russia’s exports and India 36 percent. In June 2026 alone, India imported €5.5 billion of Russian fossil fuels, with crude oil making up 83 percent of those purchases.
India Pushes Back
India’s Ministry of External Affairs responded firmly to the bill’s passage. “India remains firmly committed to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people,” the ministry said, adding that it “will continue to do so through diversified sourcing and on the basis of evolving market dynamics.” The statement said India has “made clear its determination to take all necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests.”
The measure has also drawn opposition from BRICS, the 11-nation bloc that includes China, Russia, India, Brazil, and South Africa, which has become a central vehicle for Moscow’s efforts to bypass Western sanctions and reduce reliance on the dollar. China’s foreign ministry has repeatedly said it opposes all forms of unilateral tariff measures, stating that “tariff wars, trade wars do not serve anyone’s interests.”
What to Watch
White House officials confirmed that Trump intends to sign the bill into law. The key questions now are how aggressively the administration will apply the tariff mechanism, whether it will grant exemptions to countries like India, and how targeted nations respond. With energy markets already unsettled by Middle East tensions, the bill adds a significant new variable to global trade and the war in Ukraine.