The U.S. Senate will put off advancing a bill to tighten sanctions against Russia and its trading partners after President Donald Trump signaled that he is prepared to take action unilaterally, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Monday.
“It sounds like right now the president is going to attempt to do some of this on his own,” Thune said, as quoted by Politico. “If at some point the president concludes that it makes sense and adds value and leverage that he needs in those negotiations to move the bill, then we’ll do it. We’ll be ready to go.”
According to Thune, Trump’s recent announcement of measures against Russia suggests the Senate may no longer need to pass the proposed sanctions legislation. “We are going to try as best we can... coordinate strategies with the White House, obviously with the House,” he added.
The bipartisan sanctions bill, introduced by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, calls for 500-percent tariffs on imports from countries that purchase Russian oil, natural gas, or uranium — including China, Brazil, and India. The bill has the support of 85 senators.
Earlier, Trump delivered his promised statement on Russia, declaring that if no ceasefire agreement is reached in Ukraine within 50 days, the United States will impose 100-percent tariffs on imports from Russia and its trading partners. He also announced that the United States and the European Union had reached an agreement to supply arms to Kyiv, with Europe covering the costs.
The sponsors of the sanctions bill welcomed Trump’s remarks but emphasized that “the ultimate hammer to bring about the end of this war will be tariffs against countries, like China, India and Brazil, that prop up Putin’s war machine.”