**Senate Sanctions on Russia Delayed as Trump Threatens Tariffs**
The US Senate is likely to delay advancing a significant package of sanctions targeting Russia’s trading partners, following President Donald Trump’s statement that he plans to take action unilaterally later this summer if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not move towards a peace agreement with Ukraine.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on July 14 that the Senate would wait and see if President Trump’s threat to impose “secondary tariffs” of up to 100 percent on countries that continue to trade with Russia would be enough to pressure Putin into negotiations. Thune stated that if Trump concludes that additional sanctions make sense, then the Senate will move forward with the bill.
**Trump Threatens Tariffs on Countries Trading with Russia**
President Trump threatened to impose severe tariffs on countries that maintain trade with Russia, including China, Brazil, and India. He stated that secondary tariffs are “very, very powerful” and would be imposed if a peace deal is not reached within 50 days. The Senate legislation, crafted by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal, would authorize Trump to impose even steeper secondary tariffs of at least 500 percent on imported goods from these nations.
The bill also includes authorization for Trump to raise tariffs on remaining US imports from Russia to at least 500 percent. However, this move is unlikely to have an immediate impact, given that existing sanctions have already significantly curtailed trade with Moscow.
**Action on Sanctions Legislation Unlikely**
Action on the sanctions legislation in the House of Representatives also appeared unlikely following Trump’s remarks. Senate Majority Leader Thune suggested that President Trump’s threat might make it unnecessary for the Senate to pass the Graham-Blumenthal bill immediately.
In a joint statement, Senators Graham and Blumenthal commended both Trump’s tariff threat and his plan to sell American-manufactured weapons to NATO for subsequent use by Ukraine. However, they stressed that the ultimate goal is not more tariffs and sanctions but rather to entice Putin to come to the peace table.
**Trump’s History of Imposing Tariffs**
President Trump has a history of imposing tariffs on various trading partners, including China, India, and Brazil. He has previously threatened other countries with new “reciprocal” tariffs to exert pressure on various issues. However, his follow-through on these threats has been inconsistent, raising questions about the effectiveness of his latest warning to Putin.
**US Trade with Russia Plummets**
U.S. trade with Russia has seen a dramatic decline in recent years, plummeting from approximately $53 billion in 2021 to $5.5 billion last year due to sanctions imposed by the Biden administration and Congress after Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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