US President Donald Trump has given the green signal to a proposed Congress bill, under which heavy tariffs and secondary bans of up to 500% can be imposed on countries importing Russian energy.
This bill, introduced jointly with Senator Richard Blumenthal, is expected to be presented for voting next week. In his public statement, US Senator Lindsey Graham specifically named India, China and Brazil as countries that may face pressure under the proposed framework.
The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, introduced in the US Senate last January, outlines a set of punitive measures related to Russia’s nearly four-year-long war in Ukraine. The bill would go into effect if the US President determines that the Russian government, or those acting on its behalf, are refusing to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine, violating any agreement, carrying out new attacks, or attempting to undermine or overthrow the government of Ukraine.
In such cases, under the law, America will have to impose visa ban and asset freeze on certain people. These include the Russian President, senior military commanders and any foreign individual knowingly supplying defense equipment to the Russian armed forces.
The bill also calls for imposing heavy tariffs on Russian imports. It mandates a minimum 500% duty on all goods and services imported into the US from Russia. Additionally, the same tariffs will also apply to imports from countries that knowingly trade uranium and petroleum products of Russian origin.
Why does this matter for India?
Russian oil has helped India manage fuel inflation and reduce import costs at a time of global instability. Any US-led move to punish buyers could complicate India’s energy security strategy, increase import costs, and force refineries to rethink sourcing patterns.