Key takeaways
- The law lets the president impose tariffs up to 100% on the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas.
- China takes about half of Russia’s crude exports and India roughly 37 percent, according to research group data.
- A national interest waiver means the tariffs are authorized but not automatic, and one former Treasury official doubts they will be sustained.
President Donald Trump signed H.R. 5334, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, on September 18, according to the White House. The law is named for the South Carolina senator who died in July after spending more than a year building support for it, and it expands US sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, its financial institutions and the so-called shadow fleet of tankers that moves its oil, while extending existing sanctions on Iran.
For companies still buying Russian oil and gas, particularly in China and India, the law’s most consequential piece is new authority letting the president impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the countries that buy the most of it. The statute also includes a national interest waiver that lets the administration suspend enforcement, subject to notifying Congress.
A Bill Built Over Eighteen Months
Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, and Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, introduced the bill on April 1, 2025. By the time of final passage, it had gathered 84 Senate cosponsors, above the two-thirds threshold that would let Congress override a presidential veto. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania introduced a companion measure in the House that drew 151 cosponsors.
Congress pursued the legislation after 2025 peace negotiations over Ukraine broke down and Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians intensified that May. Graham died in July 2026, before the bill reached the floor. The Senate passed it 86-11 on August 7, 2026. The House followed on September 16 with a 262-159 vote that included 203 Republicans, 58 Democrats and one independent. Trump signed it two days later. The law also extends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 for five years, through 2031.
Who Buys Russian Crude
China has purchased about 50% of Russia’s crude oil exports and India roughly 37%, according to Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air data covering December 2022 through August 2026.
Targeting the Shadow Fleet and Russian Energy Projects
The law directs sanctions at the aging, foreign-flagged vessels Russia has used to keep exporting crude while dodging Western price caps and restrictions, commonly known as the shadow fleet. Coverage extends to vessel owners, operators and captains, as well as insurers and port operators that allow sanctioned ships to dock, and to ship-to-ship transfers used to obscure the origin of cargo.
It also names specific Russian energy projects for sanctions, including the Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2 liquefied natural gas ventures, and bars new US investment in Russia until a peace agreement acceptable to Ukraine is reached. Most of the law’s initial measures, including identification of shadow fleet vessels, must be carried out within 30 days of enactment, putting the deadline at October 18, 2026. After that, the law calls for the administration to review designated entities and the list of top oil and gas buyers every 180 days.
Two Layers of Tariffs
The law builds in two distinct tariff mechanisms. One authorizes the president to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas by volume. The other separately raises duties on goods originating in Russia itself, to as much as 500 percent on all US imports from Russia.
Countries that import less than 15 percent of Russia’s natural gas exports and have taken what the law calls significant steps to reduce those purchases qualify for an exception. The statute authorizes a maximum tariff; it does not require the White House to use it. The president retains a waiver to suspend tariff enforcement if doing so protects critical US economic interests or broader strategic alliances, provided Congress is notified, or if the president certifies the waiver serves the national interest.
Why China and India Are the Biggest Targets
China has bought roughly 50 percent of Russia’s crude oil exports and India about 37 percent, based on data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air covering December 2022 through August 2026. That makes both countries prime candidates for the top-five list the US Trade Representative is required to reassess every 180 days.
China has objected to the measure, describing it as an exercise of “long-arm jurisdiction.” India has said it “remains firmly committed to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people.”
The statute authorizes a maximum tariff; it does not require the White House to use it.
Compliance Rules for Companies
Beyond the tariff threat, the law tightens direct compliance obligations. It bars new investment in Russia’s energy sector, blocks export or transfer of US-produced energy products to Russia, and prohibits US persons from providing designated services to Russian individuals or companies, financing foreign investment in Russia, or buying Russian sovereign debt.
US depository institutions and securities brokers must stop processing transactions involving the Russian government, government-controlled entities or Russian officials unless a general or specific license authorizes it. The law also allows secondary sanctions on foreign banks that conduct significant transactions with covered Russian financial institutions, though the president can waive that requirement.
Companies get a 270-day window from enactment to wind down existing Russian operations, and the law carves out transactions involving humanitarian aid, agricultural commodities, food, medicine and medical devices. General licenses already issued by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control before enactment remain valid.
Political Backing and Doubts About Enforcement
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the signing, saying “peace comes through strength” and urging swift implementation of the law. Senator Jeanne Shaheen was cited as underscoring congressional commitment to maintaining pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Not every lawmaker backed the bill, however: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries opposed it, arguing it contained “loopholes” and would raise costs for American families, even as 58 Democrats crossed party lines to support it.
Questions remain about whether the tariff threat will actually be enforced. Kerri Bitsoff, a former senior Treasury Department official who worked at the Office of Foreign Assets Control, pointed to China’s response to earlier trade measures in 2025, when Beijing retaliated with its own counter-tariffs and restrictions on rare-earth exports, as a sign of the practical resistance Washington could face. Sustaining the new sanctions, she said, “will take resolve from the president and the American public.” The next fixed marker is October 18, 2026, when most of the law’s initial measures are due to take effect, including the first determination of which countries count among the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas.
Photo: 颐园居 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
