India Faces Fresh 500% Tariff Threat As US Revives Russia Sanctions Push
India Faces Fresh 500% Tariff Threat As US Revives Russia Sanctions Push Published By, Last Updated: July 11, 2026, 07:24 IST US senators have announced
India Faces Fresh 500% Tariff Threat As US Revives Russia Sanctions Push Published By, Last Updated: July 11, 2026, 07:24 IST US senators have announced an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward legislation aimed at imposing sanctions on countries that continue to purchase Russian energy. US President Donald Trump (L) and PM Narendra Modi (R). (Image: News18) As global crude prices climb following renewed fighting between the United States and Iran and US President Donald Trump’s declaration that the ceasefire with Tehran is over, India could face another challenge. Four US senators have announced an agreement with the Trump administration to move forward legislation aimed at imposing sanctions on countries that continue to purchase Russian energy. The bipartisan group said the proposed law is intended to increase pressure on Russia by targeting nations buying its oil and natural gas. Sanctions on Russia Two Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and Roger Wicker, along with Democratic senators Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen, said on Friday that they had reached an understanding with the Trump administration to advance the updated sanctions legislation.
In a joint statement, the four senators said, “We are proud to announce that we have reached an agreement with the Trump Administration to move our updated Russia sanctions legislation forward. We are very pleased with this significant progress and expect to roll out the legislation very soon." They added that as Russia continued its attacks on civilians, it was necessary for the legislative and executive branches to work together to create measures that would impose a heavy cost on countries purchasing Russian oil and natural gas, which they said was helping to finance Russia’s war. What the proposed legislation says? The four senators have been among the strongest supporters of the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025. The proposed law seeks to impose American tariffs on goods and service exports from countries that buy Russian-origin oil, natural gas, uranium and petroleum products. The original version of the bill included a provision for a 500 per cent US tariff on countries purchasing Russian energy. Senator Richard Blumenthal had earlier described the proposed tariff as “bone-crushing".
However, the legislation also allows the US President to grant a 180-day waiver to a particular country if it is considered to be in the national security interests of the United States. According to reports in the US media, the bill has since been revised and the tariff provisions have been softened. The final details of the updated legislation, however, are yet to be made public. India in focus. India has been specifically mentioned by supporters of the legislation. In June 2025, Senator Lindsey Graham wrote on X, “To China and India: if you continue to prop up Putin’s war machine, you’ll have nobody to blame but yourself." India continued buying Russian crude after the US Treasury issued a general licence following the US-Iran war, allowing the purchase of Russian energy without attracting American sanctions. That licence, however, expired on June 17. Strong backing in the US Senate The proposed legislation has received broad support in the US Senate, with 84 senators joining as co-sponsors. The bill gained further momentum after President Trump said he was considering it as a way to pressure Russia into negotiating an end to the Ukraine war.
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