Senate Leaders work to end impasse on Russia trade legislation

Legislation to revoke Russia’s regular trade status with the U.S. remains stalled because of Senator Rand Paul’s objections to a provision strengthening sanctions for human rights abuses as Democrats scramble to reach a deal with the Kentucky Republican.

Paul’s objections have blocked Senate leaders from using a fast-track process for the bill, which has already passed the House. Paul is seeking to change the language that would sanction Russian officials who commit human rights abuses so that it specifies which types of transgressions would trigger action.

Senators Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo, the top Democrat and ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee responsible for the bill, want to advance the legislation without any changes. Modifying the legislation would require sending it back to the House for another vote before the bill could go to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democratic Senator Ben Cardin is negotiating with Paul “to see if they can come up with a compromise.”

Biden sought the legislation so the U.S. could be aligned with other allies to remove Russia’s normal trading status in response to the invasion of Ukraine. It would put Russia in the same category as other pariah states such as North Korea and Cuba and allow the U.S. to impose higher tariffs on Russian goods.

The bill also would codify a ban on Russian fossil fuel imports and expand the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to allow the Biden administration to impose further sanctions on Russian officials for human rights violations.

Paul has argued that the expansion is too broad and would open the door to a U.S. president imposing sanctions on the leaders of many countries based on what is defined a human right.

“Many different people have many different definitions of rights. The left, including the UN, believes you have a right to an abortion, to a house, to the internet, to health care,” Paul said on the Senate floor last week.

Cardin on Tuesday expressed confidence that a compromise could be reached that would satisfy concerns raised by Paul and a few other Republicans, even though that probably means getting the House to agree on any changes. Crapo also said he was optimistic about a deal.

“If we can give them a language they feel more comfortable about—other than having to send the bill back to the house—it might be faster,” Cardin said.

If a compromise can’t be reached, action could get pushed until the end of April, after the Senate’s two-week recess for Easter and Passover, with the chamber occupied with other priorities, including consideration of President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court Justice nomination Ketanji Brown Jackson.