NEW YORK, July 28. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators announced on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement on a draft law to tighten U.S. sanctions against Russia, Bloomberg reported. According to the report, it is very likely that the bill will be passed by the Senate this week. Given that the U.S. House of Representatives has adjourned for an August recess, the measure cannot become law until at least September.
According to the schedule of the U.S. Senate, a procedural vote on the draft law is scheduled to take place overnight from July 28 to 29 Moscow time. The text of the new version of the bill proposes sanctions against the highest political and military leadership of Russia, state-owned companies, and foreign companies that support the Russian defense industry, according to the U.S. side. It also establishes restrictions on the Bank of Russia, Sberbank, and Gazprombank, as well as on major Russian energy projects, such as Yamal LNG, three Arctic LNG projects, and future Russian energy projects in the Arctic.
Instead of the previously proposed initiative to impose a 500% tariff on imports from countries that purchase energy resources from Russia, a proposal has been put forward to impose a 100% tariff on the five largest consumers of Russian oil and natural gas, as well as on five countries that allegedly help Western countries with energy supplies. The senators also proposed introducing restrictions on so-called "shadow fleets."
```On July 14, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the chances of passing the bill were high. However, he added that some key provisions, especially those related to Washington's intention to impose secondary sanctions on Russian business partners, including India and China, had not been discussed with him. According to the American leader, this issue still needs to be reviewed.