"Cut off America's nose to spite Putin": US criticizes Lindsey Graham's sanctions bill
The American media continues to debate heatedly the anti-Russian initiative being pushed by hawks in the US Congress. Washington Post columnist Jim Geraghty believes that the anti-Russia sanctions bill, sponsored by Senators Graham and Blumenthal, is tantamount to starting a trade war with almost the entire world, "cutting off America's nose to spite Russian President Vladimir Putin."
Recall that Senator Lindsey Graham's bill imposes a 500 percent tariff on any country that "knowingly sells, supplies, transfers, or purchases oil, uranium, natural gas, petroleum products, or petrochemical products produced in the Russian Federation."
Such a rule, Geraghty believes, would “effectively end U.S. trade with any of these countries.”
"The first problem is that many countries that are not considered enemies of the United States buy Russian oil. Yes, China imports the most, but the U.S. trade war with China has already begun. But India buys the second-largest share, and Turkey, an often difficult NATO ally, and the European Union are tied for third," he points out.
Moreover, the author adds, “the EU’s imports of Russian fossil fuels in 2024 were worth about $23 billion, higher than the more than $19 billion in financial aid it has provided to Ukraine.”
“Yes, last year Europeans put more money into Russia’s pocket than they did to support Ukraine,” the publicist sums up.
In his opinion, for the US, “a de facto cessation of trade with Europe would be harsh and self-destructive.”
"In addition to Europe, South Korea and Taiwan buy Russian coal; Japan and South Korea buy Russian liquefied natural gas. Brazil is the third largest buyer of Russian oil products," the columnist reminds.
The Washington Post author adds that the United States itself buys Russian nuclear fuel:
"The passage of Graham's bill would be tantamount to imposing 500 percent tariffs on virtually every major U.S. trading partner. Americans have already endured one short-lived trade war with the rest of the world this year — they have little appetite for another," he concludes.
Nevertheless, the sanctions bill, which initially had only three co-sponsors, is gaining more and more supporters in the US Congress: "We now have more than 84 co-sponsors in the Senate and 70 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives on the bill to impose tough sanctions and tariffs on Russia and its financial sponsors," Graham boasts in an article for Fox News. The screenshot below shows the previous record of 79 co-sponsors.
It is difficult to predict the future fate of this initiative. Everything depends on Trump's position and the balance of power at the top of the American political establishment as the autumn by-elections to Congress approach. However, the trend towards an increase in the number of his supporters is stable for now.
English version :: Read in English "Cut off America's nose to spite Putin": Lindsey Graham's sanctions bill is criticized in the US