The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill expanding sanctions on Russia and Iran and giving President Donald Trump authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on China, India and other countries that buy Russian oil and gas. The House approved the bill by a vote of 262 to 159 before sending it to Trump for his signature.
Trump had confirmed that he would sign the bill into law after the Senate passed it last month by a vote of 86 to 11. The legislation is the biggest US legislative move against Moscow since Trump returned to the White House.
Targeting the energy and defense sectors
The bill targets Russia’s energy and defense sectors, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as what is known as the “shadow fleet” of tankers used by Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions. It also covers foreign companies and entities that support the Russian military.
The legislation allows tariffs to be imposed on major buyers of Russian oil and gas, including China and India, with the aim of reducing Moscow’s revenues. India said on Thursday that it would continue buying oil “through diverse sources and in line with changing market dynamics,” as Moscow remains one of its most important strategic partners, particularly in military equipment.
Iran sanctions extended through 2031
The bill extends the Iran sanctions law for an additional five years through 2031, while maintaining secondary sanctions on non-US companies that do business with Tehran.
Passage of the bill was delayed for more than a year as Trump favored managing sanctions and tariff policy himself rather than leaving Congress to set policy. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who was reported to have died suddenly in July, had pushed for its passage since April 2025.
Lawmakers voted on the bill before leaving Washington to campaign ahead of the midterm elections scheduled for November.
Dispute over trade powers
The broad tariff powers sparked divisions among Democrats, some of whom opposed granting Trump additional trade authority. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, described the bill as “deeply flawed,” arguing that its language expands the president’s authority to impose new import taxes and weakens the commitment to imposing new sanctions on Russia or those supporting it.
Meeks said he would support the bill if the provisions on secondary tariffs were removed, but Republicans rejected amendments aimed at narrowing their scope. Dozens of Democrats backed the bill, while a small number of Republicans opposed it on free-market or noninterventionist grounds.
Svitlana Romanko, executive director of the Ukrainian energy advocacy group, said: “Once the bill is swiftly signed into law, we hope for strict US enforcement that will finally halt the flow of money into the Kremlin’s war treasury,” adding that “every day of delay means another day in Ukraine in which we bury more victims.”
The vote comes as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its fifth year and follows drone attacks on Wednesday that targeted civilian transport in southern Ukraine and killed five people, according to officials in Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had urged Congress to pass the sanctions package to increase pressure on Moscow and push it toward negotiations.
