U.S. President Donald Trump expressed support for the initiative to impose “devastating” sanctions against the Russian Federation, and he did not rule out the possibility of extending such restrictions to Iran. Currently, the U.S. Congress is considering a bill that proposes imposing trade tariffs of up to 500% on countries that continue to cooperate with Russia.
This is reported by Finway
Increased tariffs for countries importing Russian energy resources
Since April of this year, the idea of implementing secondary sanctions against countries that purchase oil, gas, uranium, and other goods from Russia, while not supporting Ukraine in its fight against aggression, has been actively discussed in the U.S. This initiative was proposed by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal. The primary focus is on countries such as China and India, which remain the main consumers of Russian energy resources. Donald Trump noted:
“We can add Iran to this list,” Trump said, but did not specify details.
Purchases of Russian gas continue despite the war
Despite sanctions and calls for energy independence, the former subsidiary of Gazprom in Germany, now known as Sefe, continues to import billions of cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia. Last year, Sefe purchased over 5 billion cubic meters of LNG, investing hundreds of millions of euros in financing the Russian military machine. This has prompted calls from German politicians for the need to terminate contracts with Russia and end the “dirty business.”
The company Sefe, which previously operated under the name Gazprom Germania, was nationalized in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine and the energy crisis in Germany. However, it still continues to fulfill its existing long-term contract for the supply of Russian LNG.