Russia's lower house of parliament approved a bill that would give the Kremlin authority to ban trade in certain items with countries deemed to be unfriendly to Moscow.

Russian lawmakers promised a “painful” response after the United States imposed sweeping sanctions in April against some of Russia’s biggest firms and businessmen for "malign activities.” A retaliatory draft bill threatened to restrict imports of U.S. goods including medicines and agricultural goods but has since been diluted, removing language that targeted specific goods and sectors out of fears about the potential impact on Russian consumers and industries.