Trump Signs Russia Sanctions Law With Reported Broad Tariff Powers

The BBC reported on September 18 that Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The report describes it as a 48-page measure aimed at major purchasers of Russian oil and gas.

According to the BBC, the law gives Trump broad power to levy tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest purchasers of Russian oil and gas, with China and India identified as the most significant potential targets. The report also says the measure extends to Iran’s energy and weapons sectors and includes sanctions against Vladimir Putin, senior Russian officials, banks, other financial institutions and Russia’s shadow fleet of tankers.

The BBC reported an exception for countries that import less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia while working to reduce that dependence. CREA data cited by the BBC says China accounted for 50% of Russian crude exports and India for 37% between December 2022 and August 2026.

That description supports a narrower conclusion than the claim that the law makes enforcement a presidential choice. The reporting presents the tariffs as an authority Trump can use, but the supplied record does not include the enacted text needed to determine whether other provisions are mandatory, conditional or subject to waiver limits.

The available record also contains no implementation order, waiver notice or other specific presidential action under the measure. The immediate accountability question is therefore whether Trump uses the reported tariff authority, not whether the evidence already proves he can suspend every provision or trade the law away in negotiations.

Senator Richard Blumenthal called the legislation “scorching sanctions” that would “throttle Putin’s war machine,” according to the BBC, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Trump for signing it and called for full and swift implementation. Those statements do not establish that the law will reduce Russian revenue or change peace negotiations.

Mother Jones separately reported that RT allegedly funneled $10 million to MAGA influencers including Benny Johnson and Tim Pool, who said they did not know the money came from Moscow. That account provides context about alleged Russian influence operations, but the supplied report does not connect those payments to Trump’s signing decision or to this law’s operation.

The strongest supported finding is that Trump has been given a reported tariff instrument whose practical force depends, at least in the available account, on presidential use. Until the enacted text and any implementation or waiver records are available, the public cannot determine how far Congress constrained that choice or whether the White House has acted on it.