By Timothy Gardner and Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) – Republican and Democratic U.S. senators on Tuesday unveiled an updated version of Russia sanctions legislation championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, seeking to impose sanctions on Russian officials and to use tariffs to pressure China and India to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Graham, who died suddenly on Saturday, had announced during a trip to Ukraine just a day earlier that he had reached an agreement with Republican President Donald Trump to move forward with the bill, more than a year after it was introduced.
Senate aides said there were 26 co-sponsors for the bill, both Republicans and Democrats, and they expected more within several hours, expressing optimism about its chances of passage. “We’re pretty confident on its path,” one aide said.
The bill is changed from the original version introduced by Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, in April 2025.
The new version of the measure eases tariffs that could be placed on third-party buyers of Russian oil and natural gas to a maximum of 100% on the top five purchasers, from the previous proposal’s blanket 500%.
It also allows an exception for countries which import less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas exports and which are taking significant steps to reduce those imports, which could exempt Japan, France, Hungary and Belgium.
The top five purchasers of Russian crude are China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan, and the top importers of Russian natural gas are China, France, Japan, Hungary and Belgium, the aides said.
The new version of the bill also includes a provision that allows Trump to waive the sanctions if he deems it in the U.S. national interest to do so.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Timothy Gardner; additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Edmund Klamann)
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