US affairs expert Dmitry Drobnytsky says the Senate's newly passed Russia
sanctions bill is likely to go unenforced and become a 'silent law' akin to the
Jackson-Vanik amendment. The Senate on Friday overwhelmingly approved a measure,
drafted with input from the late Senator Lindsey Graham, that would levy a 100%
tariff on the five largest importers of Russian energy resources and a 500%
tariff on all US imports from Russia. Drobnytsky said the bill is primarily
political signaling, will likely accumulate exemptions to avoid inflicting
heavy damage on an already unstable US economy, and shifts punitive pressure
from Russian producers and traders onto buyers of Russian energy products.
