Trump signs the Russia and Iran sanctions act, with tariff powers attached
Congress has granted the president broad new tariff authority over the countries that buy Russian oil, days before Xi Jinping arrives in Washington.
Assembled by Claude from 10 sources at 10 outlets · Saturday, September 19, 2026, Morning edition, 10:12 AM EDT · no human byline
What happened
On Friday, 18 September, the president signed into law H.R. 5334, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which authorises and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs and prohibitions on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran whitehouse.gov. The law expands primary and secondary sanctions against Russian actors, targets the country's shadow fleet and authorises presidential tariffs en.royanews.tv.
It allows for primary and secondary sanctions on Russia and on other countries that support Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine abcnews.com. It takes aim at Russia's energy and defence sectors, alongside President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials gulfnews.com, and sanctions Putin himself cbsnews.com. The bill was championed by Senator Lindsey Graham cbsnews.com. President Zelenskyy thanked Trump for signing what he called critically important legislation abcnews.com.
Why it matters to investors
The tariff authority, not the sanctions list, is the market-relevant part. The law clears the way for tariffs of up to 100 per cent on India and China ndtv.com, Russia's largest energy buyers, just days ahead of Xi Jinping's visit to Washington asia.nikkei.com. Trump is set to meet Xi at the White House on 24 September cbsnews.com.
The grant of power is unusual in scale. One assessment cited by Reuters called it the first time in nearly forty years that Congress has handed the executive new tariff authority reuters.com. Because the authority is discretionary, the exposure for trade-sensitive earnings is a decision rather than a schedule ndtv.comasia.nikkei.com. That is a different kind of risk from a legislated tariff: it can appear or disappear between quarters, and it cannot be hedged against a published timetable reuters.comtime.com.
What to watch
Domestic politics may set the pace. Reuters noted the risk of higher consumer prices ahead of the November midterm reuters.com. The legislation opened a rift in the Democratic party, pitting Ukraine's most ardent supporters against those more focused on tariff-spiked inflation news.bloomberglaw.com, and Democratic leaders have voiced grave concern about the breadth of the tariff authority the law affords time.com.
India is the first test case. It faces a new tariff threat now that the bill is law, with an amendment shaping the exposure ndtv.com. The sequencing matters as much as the substance: whether the administration uses the authority before the summit, holds it as leverage during it, or leaves it unused afterwards will say more about the trade truce than the text of the act does asia.nikkei.comcbsnews.com.
Sources
- whitehouse.gov: Congressional Bill H.R. 5334 Signed into Law (2026-09-18)
- reuters.com: Russia sanctions bill gives Trump sweeping new tariff powers | Reuters (2026-09-19)
- news.bloomberglaw.com: Trump Signs Russia Sanctions Bill Granting New Tariff Powers - Bloomberg Law (2026-09-19)
- asia.nikkei.com: Trump signs Russia sanctions bill that opens China, India to tariffs - Nikkei Asia (2026-09-18)
- ndtv.com: Trump Signs Russia Sanctions Bill, Clears Way For 100% Tariffs On India, China - NDTV (2026-09-19)
- en.royanews.tv: Trump signs sweeping Russia, Iran sanctions bill into law - Roya News (2026-09-18)
- gulfnews.com: Donald Trump signs Russia sanctions bill targeting oil buyers and shadow fleet - Gulf News (2026-09-19)
- cbsnews.com: Trump signs Russia sanctions bill championed by Lindsey Graham - CBS News (2026-09-18)
- time.com: Democratic Leaders Fear the New Russian Sanctions Bill Could 'Harm' Americans. Here's Why (2026-09-18)
- abcnews.com: Zelenskyy thanks Trump for signing 'critically important' Russia sanctions bill - ABC News (2026-09-19)