Lawmakers confronted Bessent at the NATO summit on July 7, seeking tougher Russia enforcement and backing for legislation that would impose tariffs of up to 500% on Russian imports.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers confronted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the NATO summit on July 7, 2026, escalating pressure on the administration to harden its stance on Russia’s war economy. Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick, Don Bacon and Gregory Meeks pushed Bessent to support stricter sanctions enforcement and to back the Peace Through Strength Against Russia Act, which Fitzpatrick has championed and which would impose tariffs of up to 500% on Russian imports. The pressure campaign had been building for months: Bacon and Meeks wrote to the Treasury Department in March 2026 over what they described as relaxed enforcement of oil sanctions, and a broader group of lawmakers followed on April 30 with a call to restore sanctions that had been temporarily paused. Those pauses had been justified by the previous administration as a way to help stabilize oil markets during a period of rising prices tied to tensions with Iran. Bessent defended the current approach as tougher than prior policy, but lawmakers are seeking clearer written enforcement commitments. The dispute also has implications for digital assets, as tougher sanctions enforcement could increase scrutiny of crypto firms operating in or near jurisdictions seen as weaker on compliance, with investors watching both the bill’s progress and any Treasury guidance on digital asset sanctions enforcement.