Fitzpatrick, co-chair of the pro-Ukrainian parliamentary group Ukraine Caucus, announced in an interview with PAP that he soon intends to force the House of Representatives to vote on the sanctions bill, providing in its current form, among others, imposition of 500 percent tariffs on goods from countries purchasing Russian raw materials. In November, the politician submitted a petition to put his project to a vote. For this to succeed, more than half of the House members must sign it.
The article continues below the video
What sanctions will the House of Representatives introduce against Russia?
Who is the author of the draft sanctions laws?
What do experts think about the project's past in the Senate?
What concerns have Democrats raised about the bill?
“In a very short time”
The congressman, who has been sharply critical of the latest US peace plan, asserted that this will happen in a “very short time”, although work is currently underway to improve the text.
— Our Democratic colleagues have raised some concerns about the wording in the text, but we're eager to correct it. We will do it. It has to go through the legislative office, but it will be taken care of. This will 100 percent move in the House. Not 99 percent, 100 percent. Fitzpatrick pointed out.
When asked about the possible fate of the bill in the Senate, the politician said that the Senate leadership should be asked about it, but added that he “cannot imagine that the House would vote on something like that and the Senate would do nothing.”
A wide range of sanctions
The project, developed by Fitzpatrick together with pro-Ukrainian politicians from both parties, is the equivalent of the Senate project authored by, among others, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. Currently, the text of the project assumes imposing a long list of restrictions on entities from the banking, mining and oil sectors, introducing a total embargo on the import of Russian uranium, as well as a 500 percent tariffs on all goods from Russia and countries that “knowingly sell, supply, transfer or buy crude oil, uranium, natural gas, petroleum products or petrochemical products originating in the Russian Federation.”
This last provision is the most controversial because it may mean exorbitant tariffs on products from EU countries or China. President Trump, who in November claimed he had no objection to the project moving forward, emphasized that he wanted to have flexibility in imposing restrictions.
The breakthrough is in doubt
On Thursday, when asked by PAP, Senator Graham, the main advocate of the project that has been stuck in Congress since April, could not say whether there will be a breakthrough in the matter.
– We'll see. I think for now we are trying to find out what happened on Tuesday, he said, referring to the Moscow talks between President Donald Trump's representatives and Vladimir Putin. — I will talk to Senator Thun (the Republican leader in the Senate) about this, but let's give peace a chance, he added.
Speaking about negotiations to end the war, the Republican said Ukraine will have to make sacrifices, whether it's land, status in NATO or the size of its armed forces. However, he stressed, leaving the Senate hearing on the situation of Ukrainian children deported by Russia, that there was no concession on the issue of children.
Graham is a co-author of a bill that would officially recognize Russia as a state supporting terrorism if it does not return kidnapped Ukrainian children to their families. Although both he and several senators from both parties have announced they will strive to pass the bill, it is not clear whether they can succeed.
