Democrats stall the law on "hellish" sanctions against Russia due to "tariff powers" for Trump - media
Kyiv • UNN
Democratic senators are blocking the bill on sanctions against Russia due to concerns over expanding Trump's tariff powers. Republican Rand Paul also opposed it, calling tariffs destructive to the global economy.
Democratic objections in the U.S. Senate to granting President Donald Trump broader "tariff powers" are slowing down the consideration of the bill on sanctions against Russia and hindering a potentially unanimous vote in support of Ukraine. This is reported by The Washington Times, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that opposition to the provisions of the bill that would allow the White House chief to impose high tariffs on the largest purchases of Russian oil and gas undermines unity in support of Kyiv.
Granting him tariff powers, which open the possibility of a "top-down, inside, punish friends, reward enemies" game that Donald Trump has repeatedly used to impose tariffs, is not effective for pressuring Putin. We could strip him of some of those tariff powers and pass this bill almost unanimously
In turn, Senator Rand Paul was the only Republican to vote "against" for the same reason.
I think tariffs will be devastating for the global economy. This is essentially a vote to increase taxes by $500 billion
He and Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, have joined forces to introduce amendments to the bill targeting buyers of Russian gas.
"We should not give Trump more leeway on tariffs because he has abused them so much in the past," Wyden said.
Recall
According to Reuters, the bill on sanctions against Russia, which was supported by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, will face a tough test in Congress, as Democrats and some Republicans express concern over the new trade powers that the law would grant to U.S. President Donald Trump.