Congress may soon consider the Senator Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 â a bill that epitomizes how out of touch Washingtons foreign policy establishment is with everyday Americans. The legislation is the latest counterproductive attempt to hold Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine, now well into its fifth year. But dont let sympathy for Ukraine fool you: this legislation is a tariff bill that seems to have been written with such blind rage that, rather than compel a change in Vladimir Putins behavior, its punitive measures would make American families poorer and undermine our national interests.
The Graham Sanction/Tariff bill, if passed, will likely be the largest tax increase ever passed by a Republican Congress and cost the American people half a trillion dollars. The bill would slap a 500 percent tariff on all U.S. trade with Russia and give the President unilateral authority to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on all goods imported into the United States from the top five largest importers of Russian crude oil or natural gas and countries who facilitate Russian oil sanctions evasion.
Those countries currently encompass China, India, Japan, Azerbaijan France, Hungary, Belgium, and Slovakia â with the addition of Russia, this encompasses nearly 40 percent of the worlds total population. While some countries may be exempted if they work to reduce Russian energy imports, the list of penalized countries is subject to change every 180 days. U.S. partners such as Turkey, Brazil, South Korea, and the European Union, that continue to import Russian oil and gas out of necessity, may soon find themselves put on the list.
TRUMP BET TARIFFS WOULD BRING BACK AMERICAN FACTORY JOBS. NEW REPORT SAYS IT DIDN’T WORK
This tax will, of course, be collected primarily on the American companies who import goods from these countries. When tariffs are placed on products made in China, the average American pays that tax when they shop at Walmart or any other store that offers Chinese-made products. One way to understand how tariffs work is to look at who is applying to get refunds since the Supreme Court struck down the emergency tariffs â Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, Target, General Motors, and UPS, are among the companies expected to receive billions of dollars in refunds. China isnt on the refund list because China doesnt pay the tariffs. American importers and retailers pay the tariffs, and they pass the cost of the tariffs onto you, the consumer.
While Vice President Vance may disdain the legacy of Milton Friedman, Friedmans genius was in pointing out that tariffs are sold as “protective measures” when in reality a tariff only “protects the consumer very well against one thing . . . low prices.”
If the tax proves so onerous as to prevent trade with these countries the disruption to our economy could be worse than the Smoot Hawley tariffs that exacerbated the Great Depression. Smoot-Hawley raised the average tariff by 20 percent, which almost seems quaint compared to the increases threatened by the Graham legislation.
China and India, in particular, are vital U.S. trade partners. In 2025 the United States imported over $308 billion worth of goods from China and over $103 billion from India. Middle and low-
