India faces potential US tariffs of up to 100 per cent after the Senate passed a Russia sanctions bill targeting major buyers of Russian energy, reports Asian Lite News Desk
India could face the prospect of steep US tariffs after the US Senate passed a sweeping bill targeting Russia that could impose duties of up to 100 per cent on major buyers of Russian energy.
The Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 passed the Senate by an overwhelming 86-11 vote and now moves to the House of Representatives, where senior Democrats have already raised objections to provisions granting the administration broad tariff powers.
India is not named in the legislation itself. Instead, the bill requires the US administration to identify countries based on trade data. It targets the five largest importers of Russian crude oil, the five largest importers of Russian natural gas and five countries identified as facilitating the evasion of sanctions on Russian oil.
The countries covered would be determined using the most recent 12-month period, with the list reviewed every 180 days.
India, China and Brazil were separately identified by Republican Senator Deb Fischer in a statement backing the legislation. Her comments, however, are not part of the statutory text of the bill.
“The Kremlin’s war machine runs on the money it makes from selling cheap oil and gas to countries like China, India, and Brazil who then profit by reselling Russian energy at a markup,” Fischer said.
She argued that the legislation would increase pressure on the world’s largest purchasers of Russian energy to reduce their dependence on Moscow.
The proposed measure would introduce primary and secondary sanctions targeting Russian officials, oligarchs and their family members, as well as banks and other financial institutions. It would also target foreign entities supporting Moscow’s war in Ukraine and Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which is used to transport oil and circumvent sanctions.
The bill also extends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 until 2031, retaining penalties against companies investing in Iran’s energy sector.
The legislation has exposed divisions among US Democrats over the proposed tariff powers. An amendment introduced by Republican Senator Rand Paul and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden seeking to remove the tariff provisions was defeated by 32-64.
Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock subsequently lifted his hold on the legislation after US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer provided a written commitment that the administration would implement the law as written.
“Let’s be clear: Putin is a war criminal, and his war machine must be stopped,” Warnock said. “But we should not have to choose between putting a check on Putin’s aggression and putting a check on this president’s tariff regime.”
The bill’s future in the House remains uncertain. House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking Democrat Gregory Meeks and Representative Don Beyer criticised the current version, saying it would give President Donald Trump extensive tariff authority while maintaining broad presidential waivers on sanctions.
“The current text is unacceptable,” they said.
The House is currently in recess until August 31 and has not indicated whether it will take up the Senate legislation. It passed a separate Russia sanctions and Ukraine aid bill in June after supporters used a discharge petition to force a vote.
The legislation was named after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who had negotiated an agreement with the White House before his death on July 11. Senators accelerated consideration of the measure following his death.
For India, the legislation introduces a significant new risk to its energy trade with Russia. While the country is not explicitly named in the bill, its position among major purchasers of Russian crude means it could potentially fall within the categories covered by the proposed tariff mechanism if the administration’s trade-data assessment places it among the five largest importers.
Any such action would have implications for India-US trade and could add another layer of complexity to relations between New Delhi and Washington, particularly as the two countries continue to negotiate over trade and tariffs.
