U.S. Senate votes for bill on additional anti-Russian sanctions - media

WASHINGTON. Aug 7 (Interfax) - The upper chamber of the U.S. Congress on Friday approved a bill envisaging the possibility of additional sanctions against Russia, the CNN reported on Friday.

Eighty-six senators backed the bill, 11 voted against it.

The document will now be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration. Its consideration there may start in the fall.

The bill envisages future support of sanctions against Russian top officials and big businessmen. The measures will also affect state enterprises and foreign companies that allegedly support the Russian defense sector.

The document envisages the possibility of introducing duties amounting to up to 100% on goods from the five largest countries importing Russian oil and gas, in particular, on all goods from China and India. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is authorized to determine the precise amount of duties.

The Senate also voted on an amendment that, if adopted, would deprive the authorities of the ability to introduce duties against buyers of oil and gas from Russia, but the senators did not back it.

The House of Representatives is now on vacation. Therefore, it is impossible to start consideration of the bill there before September. In the meantime, the U.S. media noted that, unlike senators, many members of the House of Representatives have problems with the bill. In particular, many Democrats see it not so much as an attempt to put pressure on Russia, but more as the White House's wish to receive a lawful instrument for introducing large duties against some countries. As a result, it is expected that the discussion of the bill may last a long time and many amendments may appear. There is no confidence that the Congress will finally successfully agree the bill, the report said.