Shocking 500%: The US is ready to impose an unprecedented duty on all those who buy Russian oil – Bloomberg
2 April 15:10
A group of 50 U.S. senators from the Republican and Democratic parties presented a package of sanctions aimed at Russia and countries that buy Russian energy. The sanctions will be imposed if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to negotiate a ceasefire with Ukraine in good faith or violates a possible future agreement. This was reported by Bloomberg, according to Komersant ukrainskyi.
What do the sanctions provide for?
According to the draft bill, which was published by the publication, the sanctions include a 500% duty on imports from countries that buy Russian oil, oil products, natural gas, or uranium. In addition, American citizens will be prohibited from purchasing Russian sovereign debt obligations.
The proposed package of sanctions would also include a number of other restrictions, such as a ban on U.S. financial institutions from investing in entities linked to the Russian government and sanctions against any country that has purchased uranium of Russian origin.
The draft law provides for the possibility for the president to grant temporary exceptions if it is “in the national security interests of the United States.”
These measures go beyond the sanctions already imposed on Russia and are likely to provoke a confrontation with major buyers of Russian energy, such as India and China, and put Europe, which is still partially dependent on Russian natural gas, in a difficult position. Although huge sectors of the Russian economy have already been sanctioned, exports of liquefied natural gas to Europe are still allowed.
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Bipartisan support
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, one of the bill’s sponsors, said in an interview:
“We hope for peace, but it has to be fair for Ukraine. The reason there is no ceasefire is because Putin is stalling, hoping to gain an advantage on the battlefield by distracting President Trump and the American people.”
The main provisions of the sanctions were announced in a press release by Senators Blumenthal and Lindsey Graham (Republican from South Carolina). They reported that 50 senators supported the bill, and a similar document will be presented in the House of Representatives by a bipartisan group of four lawmakers.
The day before, US President Donald Trump said he was “furious” with Putin and threatened to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil buyers if the Russian leader refused to abandon the ceasefire with Ukraine. However, on Monday, Trump toned down his criticism somewhat, saying in the Oval Office:
“I want to make sure he keeps his word, and I think he will. I don’t want to put secondary tariffs on his oil, but I think I will if I think he’s not doing his job.”
A deal that doesn’t exist
On Tuesday, both Russia and Ukraine said they had handed over lists of violations of an agreement to stop attacks on energy infrastructure to the United States, although European officials said last week that the limited ceasefire had not yet taken effect.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that he and Defense Minister Andrei Belousov had briefed Putin on Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure and handed over a list of these violations to U.S. officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also said on Tuesday evening that Kyiv was passing on information to Washington about Russian strikes on energy facilities.
Chronicle of US-Russian negotiations
on February 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Assistant Prime Minister Yuri Ushakov met in Saudi Arabia with an American delegation, represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Advisor Mike Volz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Vitkoff.
After the talks, the US State Department reported that the delegations agreed to “eliminate irritants” in bilateral relations and continue to work on preparing talks on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The parties also agreed to appoint high-level groups for further negotiations on Ukraine.
It was reported that the United States and Russia discussed a three-stage peace plan for Ukraine, which consists of the following stages:
- A ceasefire.
- Holding elections in Ukraine.
- Conclusion of a peace agreement.
on February 27, negotiations between the Americans and Russians continued in Istanbul. According to the Russian side, they discussed the normalization of diplomatic relations. The Kremlin also allegedly demanded the return of 6 properties that had been seized from Russians in the United States in 2016-2018, and also proposed to resume air travel.
on March 13, Putin met in Moscow with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff. The parties have not yet made any statements about the results of this meeting, except for the words of Trump’s national security adviser Mike Volz that there are grounds for cautious optimism.
on March 25, the United States agreed with Ukraine and Russia to ban attacks in the Black Sea. The agreement also allegedly includes an end to shelling of energy infrastructure.
