6 in 10 support US sanctions on Russia’s trading partners: Poll

Most Americans are supportive of the U.S. levying sanctions against Russia’s trading partners to exert pressure on the Kremlin to halt its invasion of Ukraine, according to a new poll.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos survey, released Wednesday, found that 62 percent of U.S. adults are in favor of the Trump administration slapping sanctions on Moscow’s trading partners, including India and China.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) spearheaded a massive sanctions bill in the upper chamber that, if adopted, would impose 500 percent secondary tariffs on Russia’s trading partners. 

“We propose in our bill 500 percent. If it’s 250 percent, I could live with it. Even if it’s 100 percent, possibly,” Blumenthal said earlier this month. “But you ought to impose bone-crushing sanctions that will stop them from fueling Russia’s war machine.”

On Wednesday, Trump’s steep tariffs against India, now totaling 50 percent, went into effect. The administration said it would impose additional import taxes on India’s purchases of Russian oil, arguing that New Delhi is helping to fuel the Kremlin’s continued military operations in Ukraine. 

The president met separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month to nudge the leaders closer to a ceasefire deal. The administration is also working to get the Eastern European leaders face-to-face.

The large majority of MAGA-aligned Republicans, 76 percent, support imposing sanctions against Russian trading partners to help stop the three-and-a-half-year war in Eastern Europe, the results show. The majority of Democratic Party voters, 58 percent, are also for slapping sanctions on Moscow’s trading partners, according to the survey. 

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted from Aug. 22-24 among 1,022 U.S. adults. The margin of error for the full sample is 3 percentage points.