By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Ukraine's top sanctions official will visit Washington this week to urge members of the U.S. House of Representatives to back sweeping Russia sanctions legislation that sailed through the Senate but faces stiff opposition from some powerful Democrats.
Vladyslav Vlasiuk, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's sanctions commissioner, told Reuters on Monday he is due to be in the U.S. capital on Tuesday on a trip that will include meetings with lawmakers.
Two
congressional aides confirmed plans for Vlasiuk's visit and said he would urge support for the "Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026," a measure intended to sanction Russian officials and authorize stiff tariffs on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas.
The bill is seen as an important message to Ukraine – and Russia – of continuing U.S. support for the government in Kyiv in its defense against Russia's full-scale invasion. It aims to increase economic pressure on Moscow by cutting off sources of revenue used to fund the war.
The bill, backed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who died in July, passed the Senate on August 7 by 86-11, with strong support from Democrats as well as Graham's fellow Republicans.
Republican President Donald Trump supports the bill.
However, that support may not be enough to secure House passage, with some lawmakers and industries wary that new tariff powers for Trump also included in the legislation could raise costs for U.S. importers and consumers while exposing Republicans to political blowback ahead of November's midterm elections.
Trump's Republicans control only slim majorities in both the House and Senate and some see tariffs as unwarranted government intrusion in the free market.
HOUSE VOTE NOT SCHEDULED
The House has not yet scheduled a vote on the legislation. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Monday his caucus had not agreed on a position on the measure, noting that some senior Democrats have serious concerns about the tariff provisions.
"It risks providing tariff and sanctions authority to Donald Trump and his administration that we believe they will abuse," Jeffries told reporters at a news conference on Monday, as the House returned to Washington from its August recess.
Opponents of the bill also say that Trump already has the authority he needs to impose stiff sanctions on Russia. The discussion comes as swarms of drones have plagued Kyiv and nearby areas in recent days, killing dozens of people and damaging homes.
Jeffries said he expected Democratic lawmakers to "have serious conversations about" the bill as soon as this week.
If it is approved by the House and signed into law by Trump, the measure would allow the president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that are major consumers of Russian energy, including India, Japan and some countries in the European Union, and leave it to his discretion to lift them.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; additional reporting by Thomas Balmforth in London; editing by Don Durfee and Stephen Coates)
