A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a bill proposing tariffs of up to 100% on imports from India and four other countries for continuing to purchase Russian oil, escalating Washington’s efforts to curb Moscow’s energy revenues. While the legislation still has to clear Congress before becoming law, it could have significant implications for India if enacted.
The bill, brokered by the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, targets India, China, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan—the five largest buyers of Russian oil. Besides imposing tariffs, it also seeks sweeping sanctions on Russia’s energy, financial and defence sectors, along with Russian oligarchs and President Vladimir Putin.
“It’s been referred to as a tariffs bill, but actually it imposes full blocking sanctions on wide swaths of the Russian economy, including its energy industry, financial industry, defence industrial base, oligarchs, business people, and Vladimir Putin himself,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told reporters in Washington.
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Explaining the tariff provision, Blumenthal said, “It imposes tariffs that are targeted: narrowly limited to the five major purchasers – up to 100% – with waiver authority that is narrowly tailored and constricted. And those five major purchasers, right now, of oil are China, India, Slovakia, Hungary, Azerbaijan.”
The senators said 15 European countries that continue importing Russian natural gas have been exempted because their purchases account for only a fraction of their energy requirements and they are actively reducing their dependence on Moscow.
If passed, the legislation would mark the first time the US Congress has explicitly authorised tariffs as a geopolitical tool to penalise countries that continue financing another nation’s war effort. An earlier version of the proposal had sought tariffs of 500% on buyers of Russian oil and gas.
India and oil imports
For India, the proposal comes at a time when Russian crude has become the backbone of its energy security. According to commodity analytics firm Kpler, India imported around 2.6 million barrels per day of Russian crude in June, accounting for more than half of its total crude imports. July arrivals are also expected to remain strong.
India meets more than 88% of its crude oil requirement through imports. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, discounted Russian crude has become India’s largest source of oil, replacing several traditional West Asian suppliers. More recently, supply disruptions in West Asia have further increased India’s reliance on Russian cargoes to ensure uninterrupted supplies and contain import costs.
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However, trade experts believe the chances of the bill becoming law remain limited.
According to Ajay Srivastava, former Indian Trade Service officer and founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), the original version of the legislation remained in the US Senate for over 15 months without any action, indicating limited congressional support for such sweeping tariff powers. He also noted that recent US Supreme Court rulings restricting the use of tariffs outside established trade laws could make the revised proposal harder to implement.
“India should continue to base its energy policy on national interest and energy security. Russian oil has helped contain inflation and secure stable energy supplies. The odds of this bill becoming law—and being enforced—appear low. Even if it does, India should continue buying Russian oil, just as China does, rather than allowing external political pressure to determine its energy policy,” Srivastava said.
If the proposal gathers support in Congress, it could add a fresh layer of complexity to India-US trade relations, even as the two countries continue negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement.
(With PTI inputs)
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