Rand Paul says Graham Russia sanctions bill would cost Americans half a trillion dollars
WASHINGTON, July 28. Sen. Rand Paul put a price tag on the Senator Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026: half a trillion dollars, paid by American consumers, not Moscow. In a published opinion piece, Paul described the legislation as likely the largest tax increase a Republican Congress has ever passed, warning that its 500% tariff on all U.S.-Russia trade and potential 100% tariffs on eight additional countries would fall on American importers and shoppers, not foreign governments.
WASHINGTON, July 28. Sen. Rand Paul put a price tag on the Senator Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026: half a trillion dollars, paid by American consumers, not Moscow. In a published opinion piece, Paul described the legislation as likely the largest tax increase a Republican Congress has ever passed, warning that its 500% tariff on all U.S.-Russia trade and potential 100% tariffs on eight additional countries would fall on American importers and shoppers, not foreign governments.
What the bill would do
The Graham legislation would impose a 500% tariff on all U.S. trade with Russia and give the president unilateral authority to levy up to 100% tariffs on the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or natural gas, along with any country found to be facilitating sanctions evasion. The countries currently meeting that threshold are China, India, Japan, Azerbaijan, France, Hungary, Belgium and Slovakia. Combined with Russia, Paul said, those nations account for nearly 40% of the world's total population.
The list changes every 180 days. Turkey, Brazil, South Korea and the European Union could be added if they continue importing Russian energy. Exemptions are available for nations that act to reduce Russian energy imports.
Who pays
Paul argued that tariffs are collected from American companies, not foreign governments. When goods from China carry a tariff, American importers pay it and pass the cost to shoppers. He pointed to the refund requests filed after the Supreme Court struck down emergency tariffs: Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, Target, General Motors and UPS are among the companies expected to receive billions of dollars. China is not on the refund list.
In 2025, the United States imported more than $308 billion in goods from China and more than $103 billion from India. U.S.-EU bilateral trade exceeded $1 trillion that same year. Paul warned that attempting to tariff individual EU members such as Slovakia and Hungary could trigger a unified EU retaliation, because the bloc handles trade as a single entity.
Sanctions record and structural concerns
Paul questioned whether additional pressure would alter Russian behavior. Russia already faces more than 26,000 sanctions and has absorbed roughly 1.4 million casualties over four years of conflict, he said, with no resulting change in its conduct. He compared the bill's tariff levels to Smoot-Hawley, which raised the average tariff by 20% and exacerbated the Great Depression. The Graham bill's proposed rates are far higher.
A provision in the bill lets Congress block a president from lifting tariffs or sanctions but provides no matching power to remove them. That authority could outlast the current administration, Paul said. The bill also gives the president power to sanction any foreign person deemed to be undermining Ukraine, a standard that leaves enforcement undefined and could reach U.S. allies.