The US Senate passed H.R. 5334, which included a package of sanctions against Russia prepared by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal. 86 senators voted for the document, 11 voted against, as follows from the voting results.
The bill provides for mandatory sanctions against Russian political leaders, large banks and state-owned companies, as well as enterprises in the defense and energy sectors. Among the organizations specified in the document are the Bank of Russia, Sberbank, VTB and Gazprombank, among the energy projects are Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 1, 2 and 3. Restrictions should also affect the Russian shadow fleet and foreign individuals, companies and ships involved in circumventing sanctions.
In addition, the US President will have the right to impose duties of up to 100% on goods from countries that are among the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas or the largest participants in schemes to circumvent oil sanctions. At the same time, the head of state will be able to refuse to apply certain restrictions if he justifies to Congress that this is in the national interests of the United States.
Now the Senate version must be approved by the House of Representatives. She is currently on vacation: the next vote is expected on August 31, according to the chamber’s schedule. If congressmen support the document without changes, it will be sent to President Donald Trump for signature.
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