A US bill imposing sanctions on Russia has drawn concern from Democratic lawmakers over potential tariffs. The bill, championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham and supported by President Donald Trump, allows the US president to place 100% tariffs on goods coming from the top five buyers of Russian oil and natural gas.

Tariff Concerns

Lawmakers eased the tariff level in the legislation to 100% from a blanket 500% included in a previous version of the bill, in order to win support. However, it still spiked concerns in Congress about potential new powers for Trump. The top five purchasers of Russian crude are China, India, Slovakia, Hungary, and Azerbaijan, and the top importers of Russian natural gas are China, France, Japan, Hungary, and Belgium.

Senator Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, and Representative Richard Neal said the tariffs in the bill could result in higher prices for US consumers. They stated that Congress must stop outsourcing responsibility for trade and tariffs to a runaway executive who is more interested in consolidating his own power than in the welfare of the American people.

Representative Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, praised sanctions in the bill on Russia’s shadow fleet and energy infrastructure, but expressed concerns about the tariffs. This is not so much a sanctions bill as it is a massive backdoor authority for President Trump to impose more tariffs, including on our European allies, that hurt American families, Meeks said.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.