US Senator Ben Cardin revealed on Tuesday that congressional leaders are discussing a bill to impose sanctions on oil importers from Iran, following Tehran’s direct attack on Israel.
The “Iran Oil Import Ban Act” (S.1829) was introduced to Congress on Tuesday, aiming to expand the scope of sanctions against entities that ship or process Iranian crude oil.
The bill, introduced by Republican Senator Marco Rubio from Florida, also imposes sanctions on Iranian oil refineries and entities engaged in illicit trading of Iranian oil through ship-to-ship transfers, according to a summary of the bill.
Additionally, the House of Representatives approved another relevant bill, HR 3774, by a majority of 342 votes to 69 in November last year.
Cardin, a Democratic member from Maryland and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that discussions are ongoing on this issue, and they are considering how to proceed. This includes discussions with congressional leaders and the bipartisan House-Senate working group on the bill.
Last Monday, the US House of Representatives also approved (by a majority of 383 votes to 11) separate legislation that expands secondary sanctions against Iran, including all transactions between Chinese financial institutions and sanctioned Iranian banks used for purchasing oil and petroleum products.
Iran sends nearly 80% of its daily oil exports, totaling about 1.5 million barrels, to private refineries in China, known as “Teapot Refineries,” according to a summary of the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act for 2023 (H.R. 5923).
This legislation could increase crude oil prices by up to $8.40 per barrel, or equivalent to 20 cents per gallon of gasoline if these sanctions are enacted and enforced, as stated in a memorandum to clients by ClearView Energy Partners.
However, despite expectations of approval for the Iranian-Chinese legislation if proposed for a vote by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Schumer may prefer to stall the legislation to avoid further increases in gasoline prices, as recently seen, according to a consultancy firm’s memorandum to clients on Tuesday.
ClearView concluded that it may be politically difficult for the majority leader (Schumer) to obstruct the imposition of sanctions on Iran if the issue continues to gain momentum, especially if the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates.
