US Sanctions Bill Goes to Trump, Russia Responds

US Sanctions Bill Goes to Trump¹, Russia Responds

The United States Congress has approved a bill placing new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea.

The measure passed both houses of Congress this week. The vote in the House was 419-3, while the Senate approved it 98-2.

If President Donald Trump signs the bill, it becomes law. If he vetoes it, Congress is likely to override² the veto to allow it to become law.

White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci left open the possibility that Trump could reject the new sanctions. He told CNN on Thursday the president might decide to veto, then try to “negotiate an even tougher deal against the Russians.”

Top lawmakers from both parties criticized a possible presidential veto.

“I think that would be a very bad mistake,” Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, told VOA. “What would be better is if they [White House officials] worked with us on the legislation.”

Democratic Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland said the bill gives Trump a better negotiating position with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “If he vetoes it, it means he doesn’t want a stronger hand in dealing³ with Mr. Putin,” Cardin said.

The bill places economic restrictions⁴ on many Russian industries. Russia’s economy has already felt the effects from 2014 sanctions placed in response to Moscow’s annexation⁵ of Crimea from Ukraine.

The new sanctions are meant to punish Russia for that action. They are also a response to U.S. intelligence findings that Russia took steps to interfere⁶ in the U.S. presidential election. President Putin has repeatedly denied his government had any involvement in trying to influence the American election.

In addition to Russia, the bill places sanctions on North Korea for its continued nuclear program. The measure bars North Korean ships from operating in American waters or docking at U.S. ports. The ban extends to ships from nations not following United Nations resolutions against North Korea. The bill bans goods produced by North Korea’s forced labor⁷ from entering the U.S.

Also, the legislation punishes people involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and anyone doing business with them. It also places restrictions on Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

Russia was quick to criticize passage of the bill and answered with its own diplomatic measures.

The Russian foreign ministry⁸ said the sanctions were evidence of “extreme aggression⁹ of the U.S. in international affairs.” Russian officials called in outgoing U.S. ambassador John Tefft in Moscow to inform him of its own countermeasures.

Russia ordered the U.S. to cut hundreds of diplomatic positions in the country to match the number of Russian diplomatic workers in the United States. In addition, Russia said it would block entry to two diplomatic properties in Moscow.

The European Union expressed its concerns, saying the new sanctions could harm Europe’s energy industry. Several nations – including Germany and France – said the sanctions might harm businesses that carry Russian natural gas through pipelines¹⁰.

Senior Republicans said they had responded by making changes to the bill to deal with some of the European concerns.

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

sanction – n. measure taken against a country to cause it to obey international laws or requirements

override – v. make something no longer valid¹¹

annexation – n. the taking over of another country’s territory

retaliate¹² – v. respond with action against something

countermeasure – n. action intended to stop or prevent something bad or unwanted

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 annexation   

n.吞并，合并

参考例句：

• He mentioned the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910 .他提及1910年日本对朝鲜的吞并。
• I regard the question of annexation as belonging exclusively to the United States and Texas.我认为合并的问题，完全属于德克萨斯和美国之间的事。

6 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

10 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

11 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

12 retaliate   

v.报复，反击

参考例句：

• He sought every opportunity to retaliate against his enemy.他找机会向他的敌人反击。
• It is strictly forbidden to retaliate against the quality inspectors.严禁对质量检验人员进行打击报复。