WASHINGTON — Iowa U.S. Senator Joni Ernst is backing a sweeping bipartisan sanctions package designed to choke off the oil and gas money financing Russia’s war against Ukraine — and potentially punish major Russian energy customers with tariffs of up to 100 percent on everything they sell to the United States.
The Senator Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 targets not only Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government, military establishment, oligarchs and financial institutions, but also foreign countries, banks, shipping companies and insurers accused of helping Moscow evade existing sanctions.
Ernst joined Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and a large bipartisan group of senators supporting the measure, which was developed by the late South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal.
Graham secured White House support for revised legislation shortly before his death. As NIT previously reported, Iowa leaders mourned Graham following the longtime Republican senator’s death earlier this month.
His sister and Senate successor, Darline Graham Nordone, is now helping carry the legislation forward.
“Until the very day he passed, Lindsey remained focused on passing the Russia sanctions bill,” Nordone said. “Passing this legislation would honor my brother’s steadfast commitment to our national security and it would provide President Trump with additional leverage to bring this war to an end.”
Tariff threat extends far beyond Russia
The most far-reaching provision would direct the president to place tariffs of up to 100 percent on goods imported from countries that remain among the five largest purchasers of Russian crude oil or natural gas.
Countries identified as leading centers of Russian oil-sanctions evasion could face the same treatment.
The tariffs would apply to all goods arriving from a targeted country, not merely oil or energy products. That could make the measure a powerful bargaining weapon but also raises the possibility of higher costs and disrupted trade if penalties are placed on major suppliers to the United States.
The legislation calls for the list of affected countries to be based on purchases during the most recent 12-month period. The U.S. trade representative would review the list every 180 days and could adjust tariff rates depending on whether a country increases or reduces its Russian energy purchases.
India and China have been Russia’s dominant crude-oil customers in recent years. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that India purchased 34 percent of Russia’s crude exports in 2024, while China accounted for 26 percent. The countries ultimately covered by the legislation, however, would be determined using more recent trade data after enactment.
The proposal also would permit tariffs as high as 500 percent on goods imported directly from Russia.
Ernst targets Putin’s ‘shadow fleet’
A major focus of the legislation is Russia’s so-called shadow fleet — a network of aging tankers, offshore companies and questionable insurers used to transport Russian oil while avoiding Western sanctions and the international price cap.
Vessels may operate through shell companies, change ownership or registration, obscure their destinations, disable tracking equipment or conduct ship-to-ship transfers at sea.
Ernst said the system continues supplying Putin with revenue for weapons and military operations.
“This legislation carries forward the tireless work Senator Graham was doing until his final days and strengthens the fight I’ve led for years against Putin’s shadow fleet, shutting down the network of tankers and shell insurers keeping his oil money flowing and fueling this war,” Ernst said.
European governments have also intensified their campaign against the shadow fleet. European Union restrictions now cover hundreds of vessels accused of transporting Russian petroleum, evading the oil-price cap or concealing their movements.
Sanctions would reach deep into Russia
The 61-page proposal would require sanctions against a broad range of Russian officials and institutions, including:
- Putin and senior members of the Russian government and armed forces;
- Russian oligarchs and certain family members;
- Russian financial institutions and government-controlled companies;
- foreign companies supporting Russia’s oil, gas, uranium and military sectors;
- vessels and businesses involved in the shadow fleet;
- financial-messaging services used to circumvent sanctions;
- entities supporting cyberattacks, election interference or disinformation; and
- people involved in abducting Ukrainian children or attacking Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.
The measure also would block certain transfers involving Russia, prohibit new American investment in the country, restrict purchases of Russian sovereign debt and bar Russian companies from trading on U.S. securities exchanges.
Humanitarian transactions involving food, agricultural commodities, medicine and medical devices would be exempt.
Sanctions could generally be lifted after Russia signs a peace agreement accepted by Ukraine’s independent government and ends military operations and attempts to overthrow or subvert the Ukrainian government. Congress would receive an opportunity to review major sanctions-relief decisions.
Grassley: Invasion comes at ‘enormous cost’
Grassley said the package would confront Putin with the economic consequences of continuing the war.
“Putin’s invasion of Ukraine unleashed destruction, chaos and bloodshed in the largest land war in Europe since World War II,” Grassley said. “Our legislation sends a clear message to Putin: your unprovoked, violent invasion comes at an enormous cost.”
Supporters argue that attacking Russia’s energy income offers a way to weaken its war effort without deploying American forces. Oil and gas exports remain critical sources of revenue for Moscow despite years of Western sanctions.
Critics of broad secondary tariffs have historically warned that punishing countries doing business with an adversary can disrupt supply chains, increase prices for American consumers and complicate relations with important trading partners. The bill attempts to give the president flexibility by allowing tariff rates to be adjusted between greater than zero and 100 percent.
Pressure follows stalled peace efforts
The renewed sanctions push comes after more than four years of war and repeated efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in May that American mediation between Russia and Ukraine had stagnated, as NIT reported in its coverage of U.S. diplomatic efforts and other international conflicts.
The Trump administration has pursued both negotiations and an economic partnership with Kyiv. In April 2025, the United States and Ukraine established a reconstruction investment fund intended to support Ukraine’s recovery and give Washington a long-term economic stake in a sovereign Ukrainian state. NIT reported on that U.S.-Ukraine agreement and Ernst’s support for it here.
Backers of the new sanctions bill contend that diplomacy will not succeed unless Putin believes continued war threatens Russia’s economy and access to global energy markets.
The proposal has attracted support from dozens of Republicans and Democrats, including senior Senate leaders and foreign-policy committee members. Supporters are urging Congress to pass it and send it to President Trump.
The complete Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 can be read here. A shorter summary of the legislation is available here.