President Donald Trump has signed the most consequential U.S. sanctions expansion against Russia in years—but the law’s most eye-catching weapon, tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy Russian energy, does not automatically hit every target at once.
The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 became law on September 18 after passing the Senate 86–11 and the House 262–159. The measure targets Russia’s energy and defense sectors, senior officials, financial institutions and the network of aging tankers used to move oil around existing restrictions, according to reporting from The Associated Press and Reuters.
The law also hands Trump a powerful new trade tool: authority to levy tariffs as high as 100% on major importers of Russian oil or natural gas. The immediate takeaway is not that all of those tariffs suddenly took effect. It is that the White House now has a congressionally approved mechanism to threaten—and potentially impose—punishing duties on countries that keep Moscow’s energy revenue flowing.
What the new law changes
The legislation broadens the targets available to U.S. sanctions officials. It reaches beyond Russian government figures to energy and defense companies, banks, foreign networks accused of helping Russia evade restrictions, and vessels in the so-called shadow fleet that transports Russian oil outside conventional Western shipping and insurance systems.
That matters because energy sales remain a critical source of funding for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Previous sanctions and price-cap efforts tried to reduce Moscow’s revenue without abruptly removing so much oil from the global market that prices surged. The new law increases the cost for companies and governments that continue facilitating those exports.
It also creates secondary pressure. Rather than sanctioning only Russian entities, Washington can use tariffs against countries that purchase Russian oil and gas or help sanctions-evasion networks operate. AP reports that the authority can reach tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest importers of Russian energy, subject to provisions and exemptions in the law.
Why “up to 100%” is not the same as a 100% tariff today
The tariff language gives the president discretion over whether to use the authority, whom to target and how high to set the rate within the law’s limits. That distinction is central for consumers and markets.
A 100% tariff would effectively double the import tax applied at the U.S. border to covered goods from a targeted country. But the economic impact would depend on the country selected, the products covered, the rate chosen, any exemptions and how trading partners respond. The law creates leverage immediately; the actual price shock would come from later implementation decisions.
Congress debated that flexibility directly. The official House Rules Committee record shows lawmakers considered—and rejected—amendments that would have removed the broad secondary-tariff section, narrowed waiver authority or named an initial list of countries eligible for the highest duties. The final structure therefore leaves substantial room for presidential judgment.
China and India are the biggest pressure points
The tariff authority is designed to change the calculations of major Russian-energy customers, particularly large economies able to absorb enormous volumes of oil. China and India are obvious focal points because of the scale of their purchases, but the law’s application will depend on formal White House determinations rather than headlines alone.
That creates a difficult balancing act. Aggressive tariffs could squeeze Russian revenue and discourage sanctions evasion. They could also intensify trade disputes, raise costs for U.S. importers and complicate relations with countries Washington wants as strategic partners.
The possibility of exemptions is also important. AP reported that countries importing less than 15% of Russia’s natural gas and actively reducing their dependence can qualify for an exception under the law’s framework. That gives the administration a way to distinguish between governments deepening their reliance on Russian energy and those trying to unwind it.
The law carries Lindsey Graham’s name—and an Iran provision
The legislation is named for the late Republican senator from South Carolina, who worked with Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal on the sanctions push. It became one of Graham’s final major legislative projects before his death in July.
The enacted package also includes a five-year extension of existing sanctions involving Iran, a provision that helped secure Trump’s support, according to AP. That explains why Iran appears in the law’s formal title even though the immediate political focus is Russia’s war and energy revenue.
What happens next
The first signals will come from the Treasury Department and the White House: which Russian entities and vessels are designated, how quickly secondary measures are prepared, and whether Trump uses the tariff authority as negotiating leverage or converts it into actual duties.
For now, the law changes the ceiling of U.S. pressure more than it changes prices at the checkout counter. It gives the president a loaded trade weapon, backed by large bipartisan majorities, but leaves the trigger—and much of the targeting—in his hands.
Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, and the U.S. House Committee on Rules.
