“Congress passed a law granting the President the authority to impose new tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.”

What we found

The evidence

• Supports the claim

  The Congressional Research Service confirms Congress passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, granting the executive branch authority to impose tariffs on countries that import Russian oil or natural gas. [1]

• Supports the claim

  Fortune reports the Act includes provisions granting the President authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on top importers of Russian oil and gas. [2]

• Supports the claim

  CNBC reports the U.S. House passed legislation authorising the President to impose tariffs on major purchasers of Russian energy. [3]

• Supports the claim

  Squire Patton Boggs states the Graham Act grants the President explicit authority to impose tariffs on imports from countries that purchase Russian energy. [4]

• Supports the claim

  France 24 English reports the US Congress approved a bill that includes provisions to impose heavy tariffs on countries purchasing oil from Russia. [5]

• Background

  CNBC reports Scott Lincicome made the statement that Congress passed a law giving the President power to impose new tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas. [6]

What we could not confirm

• Whether the President has formally signed the bill into law or exercised the granted tariff authority.
• The specific legal definition of which countries qualify as 'major buyers' under the Act, which may be subject to future executive branch determination.
• The economic impact or geopolitical implications of the tariffs mentioned.

How we checked

We looked at the legislative record from the Congressional Research Service, a legal analysis of the Act, and contemporaneous news reports from Fortune, CNBC and France 24 English, as well as the original CNBC article where the claim was made. We reviewed 6 relevant sources.