US senator offers tariff exemptions for countries assisting Ukraine, urges pressure on China

US Senator Lindsey Graham, who previously introduced a bill that would impose a 500% duty on imports from countries that purchase hydrocarbons and uranium from Russia, has proposed making exceptions for countries that help Ukraine.

“Why don’t we carve out for countries who are helping Ukraine? If you’re providing military economic assistance to Ukraine, you get a carveout. So China, if you don’t want to get sanctioned, help Ukraine … that makes sense to me,” Graham said in an interview with Semafor, per Caliber.Az.

Graham said he spoke to President Donald Trump about his effort on Tuesday [June 3] night. He declined to say what Trump thought of his latest proposal: “I’ll let him speak for himself.”

The senator said the only way to keep the conflict from expanding is to “increase the cost to China and the other bad actors.”

Notably, US Senator Lindsey Graham has introduced the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, a bipartisan bill proposing a 500% tariff on imports from countries that continue to purchase Russian oil, gas, uranium, and petrochemical products. The legislation aims to pressure Russia into negotiating a peace agreement with Ukraine by targeting its energy revenue streams. Countries like China, India, South Korea, and Türkiye, which have maintained energy trade with Russia, would be significantly affected by these tariffs. 

By Khagan Isayev