European Stocks Close Higher on Falling Oil Prices and Hopes for End to Iran War

US President Donald Trump signed into law a Russia sanctions bill on Friday, September 18. The law grants authority to expand sanctions, impose customs duties and various prohibitions against Russia, while renewing existing sanctions on Iran. The law, named the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, imposes sanctions on Russian officials, Russian banks and vessels used to transport energy from Russia, and gives Trump the authority to levy tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the five countries that import the most oil or natural gas from Russia. It also extends the Iran Sanctions Act for another five years to maintain sanctions targeting Iran's energy and weapons sectors. The US House of Representatives passed the bill on Wednesday, September 16, after the Senate approved it on August 7. The law is a major achievement carrying on the legacy of Lindsey Graham, the former senator who championed the bill and died in July after a sudden illness. However, the bill faced more division in the House than in the Senate, with three Democratic members of the House saying in a joint statement recently that the law may do more harm than good because it greatly increases Trump's power to set tariffs but does not compel him to impose sanctions on Russia.

US President Trump said on the 18th that he had reached an agreement with Denmark granting the United States "permanent control" over the security of Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory. Trump announced the agreement on social media, describing it as addressing "all of the many concerns" held by the United States and saying it would cost the United States "nothing at all." According to US government officials, the new agreement explicitly prohibits non-NATO countries from establishing military bases in Greenland and restricts investment in the island that is viewed as a threat to the United States. The leaders of Denmark and Greenland are expected to sign the agreement document at next week's UN General Assembly. Prime Minister Frederiksen said in a statement that it "strengthens our common security in the Arctic and North Atlantic region and is excellent for NATO and Europe as well."

A law imposing sanctions tariffs of up to 100% on major countries that purchase crude oil and natural gas from Russia, which continues its invasion of Ukraine, was enacted in the United States on the 18th, and President Trump signed the bill. It imposes tariffs of up to 100% on the top five countries purchasing Russian crude oil and natural gas, with China and India in mind. Sanctions will also be imposed on countries that help Russia evade energy sanctions. For natural gas, a special exception was established to exempt from sanctions countries whose imports of Russian gas remain below 15% of Russia's annual exports and which are taking measures to reduce their purchases.