Graham’s smart strategy was to take something Trump instinctively loves and use it to make Vladimir Putin’s life even more miserable.
Last week, former Senator Lindsey Graham’s sanctions bill won overwhelming support in the U.S. Senate, with 84 senators voting in favor of a motion to proceed and just twelve voting against it.
The opposition consisted of Republican Senator Rand Paul and ten Democrats: Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Alex Padilla of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Peter Welch of Vermont, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and “independent” Bernie Sanders (insert eye roll here) of Vermont who caucuses with the Democrats.
Wyden, in a joint statement with House Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal of Massachusetts, argued: “There is no question that the U.S. government must take stronger action against purchasers of Russian energy who are fueling the unjustifiable war against Ukraine. But the latest draft of the Sanctioning Russia Act is a prescription for bedlam and higher tariffs. It grants Trump authority to impose tariffs up to 100 percent on major trading partners and allies. Congress would not be able to stop Trump from unilaterally lowering those tariffs or raising them at will.”
Er, yes, but the bill expands Trump’s authority to impose tariffs on countries that are trading with Russia, which creates a pretty darn significant disincentive to trade with Russia. Currently, Moscow’s three biggest trading partners are China, India, and Turkey. The Indian government is already worrying about the effects if Graham’s bill becomes law.
Yes, I too am exhausted with Trump’s reflexive support for tariffs just about anywhere and everywhere. Last summer, I had worries about the original version of Graham’s bill, which would have given the president the authority to impose tariffs up to 500 percent. Imposing the full tariff would amount to effectively shutting down trade between the U.S. and the targeted country.
But, if you want “stronger action against purchasers of Russian energy,” as Wyden says he does, this is the option on the table. Russia is already heavily sanctioned by the U.S., and the already authorized $400 million in military aid to Ukraine is moving exceptionally slowly; it isn’t scheduled to be completed until September 2029, after Trump leaves office.
The Trump administration isn’t interested in giving any additional direct military aid to Ukraine, but it will sell arms to European NATO allies, as well as Australia and New Zealand, that our allies then deliver to Ukraine.
Bit by bit, the pressure on Russia’s economy is getting worse, month by month. Two weeks ago, Russia suspended federal government bond auctions indefinitely as borrowing costs climb and investor demand weakens. Ukraine’s “long range sanctions” — drone strikes — have reduced Russia’s refinery capacity by about a third. Ukrainian drone strikes have now moved on to Wildberries, the Russian equivalent of Amazon, and have either destroyed or inflicted considerable damage to a dozen warehouses. The Russian government is being forced to strong-arm more young men into military service.
This was Graham’s smart strategy — take something Trump instinctively loves (tariffs) and use it as a tool to make Vladimir Putin’s life even more miserable and Russia’s waging war against Ukraine more difficult.
In entirely unrelated news, Delaware Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester lived in China for seven years, and co-wrote a book in 2010, Thrive, “profiling the diverse lives of 34 women from 18 countries who have come to China and redefined and achieved success for themselves.”