US President Donald Trump has given the green light to a bill to strengthen sanctions against Russia, announced Republican Senator Lindsey Graham in X.
“After a very productive meeting with President Donald Trump today on a range of issues, he gave the green light to a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator Richard Blumenthal and many others“, he wrote.
Last year, Graham introduced a bill in the Senate that would create new sanctions. It proposes imposing 500% tariffs on imports from countries that buy oil, oil products, natural gas and uranium from Russia.
As Bloomberg reported, lawmakers were not ready to pass the bill without the president's approval. Trump had said the bill's prospects depended entirely on his own decision. In late November, senators adjourned the measure.
Graham called the US leader's decision "timely".
"This bill will give President Trump enormous leverage over countries like China, India and Brazil to encourage them to stop buying cheap Russian oil," he explained.