Nearly two dozen influential American business associations have written a letter to 100 Senators expressing concern about the Russia sanctions bill, which threatens up to a 100% tariff on India and four other major purchasers of Russian energy. They asked the lawmakers to consider removing the bill’s tariff provisions, citing their potential impact on costs for consumers and businesses.
The National Retail Federation, the US Council for International Business, the US Chamber of Commerce and 20 other industry groups wrote the letter in late July. In February, Trump announced a trade deal with India slashing tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%. The associations recommended narrowly tailored tariffs and legislative monitoring and approval mechanisms which could moderate President Donald Trump’s authority to target countries like India. “Tariffs of this scale would increase costs for everyday consumer goods, manufacturing inputs and other products while creating significant uncertainty for companies making sourcing, pricing and inventory decisions months in advance. The associations urged the US Congress to focus its efforts on targeted sanctions and stronger enforcement against sanctions evasion to put pressure on the Russian economy and its war effort in Ukraine. “If Congress chooses to retain any tariff mechanism, it should be narrowly tailored, clearly defined, subject to regular review and paired with a workable off-ramp. Congress should also include provisions regarding effective oversight of any tariff-based secondary sanctions to ensure that the Administration does not use them for unintended purposes,” they wrote. These proposed checks include requiring the Trump administration to seek approval for tariffs on imports from US treaty allies and provide regular justification for the tariffs it imposes. Members of the opposition Democratic Party have raised concerns about the new tariff provisions, which they say give the Trump administration too much power to levy tariffs. Trump administration officials have given mixed signals about the extent of their support for the Russia sanctions bill. US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor downplayed President Trump’s support for the bill in New Delhi last month. Gor pointed out that the White House had not publicly advocated for it to be passed.
It could also lead to retaliatory tariffs against US exports, including agriculture,” said the letter, a copy of which HT has seen. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the passage of the bill would give the Trump administration more options on Russia and attacked the Democrats for holding up passage of the bill in the House.
