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Congress moved Tuesday to step up sanctions on a shrinking Russian economy that is already struggling under the weight of low oil prices, high inflation and a battered currency that has sent capital fleeing.

In response to Moscow's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the House voted overwhelmingly to tighten existing economic sanctions imposed in 2014 following the Russian invasion of Crimea. Among other things, the measures freeze assets and prohibit transactions with specific Russian companies and individuals, restrict financial transactions with Russian firms, and ban certain exports that are used in oil and gas exploration or have possible military uses.

The loss of oil revenues – a drop of as much as 60 percent, according to a 2017 Congressional Research Service report — helped spark a collapse in Russia's currency, the ruble, sending the prices of Russian consumer goods soaring.

Though U.S. sanctions have put pressure on the Russian economy, the impact on American business has been limited because Russia makes up less than 1 percent of U.S. exports.

But some European countries that rely more heavily on Russia as a trade partner are eyeing the latest U.S. sanctions warily.

A version of the measure that was fashioned by U.S. Senate and House leaders would include fines for European companies that help Russia build energy export pipelines. That would likely impact EU firms involved in an $11 billion project called Nord Stream 2, that would ship Russian natural gas across the Baltic.

Reference: CNBC

Read More: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/25/us-sanctions-have-taken-a-big-bite-out-of-russias-economy.html