Tariffs on India and China problems might get worse if US President Donald Trump signs a bipartisan bill. A 500% tariff could be imposed on countries that continue to do business with Russia and purchase its petroleum products if the law is approved.
US Senator Lindsey Graham is the sponsor of the “Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025,” which seeks to punish nations that buy “cheap Russian oil.” This could directly affect New Delhi’s energy imports and deteriorate relations with Washington.
What the bill says
Senator Richard Blumenthal is one of the lawmakers who support the bill, which Graham introduced on January 4 of this year.
The bill proposes penalizing individuals and groups affiliated with the Russian government or acting on Moscow’s directives if they violate any agreements or decline to participate in peace talks with Ukraine. Punitive measures may also be taken if the aforementioned person or group takes part in another invasion of Ukraine or the overthrow of the Ukrainian government.
If the US President decides to implement the measure, it calls for restrictions on visas and property blocking in addition to a minimum 500% increase in tariffs on all goods imported into the US from Russia. The measure also requires the US President to increase duties by at least 500% on countries that trade uranium and petroleum products originating in Russia.
The bill imposes sanctions on financial institutions that deal with Russian companies in addition to the Russian institutions themselves. The bill also requires that US energy exports to Russia be banned.
What effect will the bill have on Russia’s trading partners, China and India?
The law may further isolate Russia in addition to tightening enforcement measures that limit Moscow’s access to cutting-edge technologies like semiconductors and artificial intelligence.
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However, China, India, and several other countries that trade with Russia may also face difficulties as a result of the law.
India emerged as the biggest buyer of inexpensive Russian seaborne crude following the start of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022. Western nations have reacted negatively to the acquisitions, restricting Russia’s energy sector on the grounds that the nation’s war effort is partially financed by oil profits.
Last year, the US raised import taxes on Indian goods to 50% as payback for its large purchases of Russian oil. The two countries are currently negotiating a potential trade agreement in sometimes tense talks.
Since then, New Delhi has deliberately diversified its energy sources and decreased its purchases of Russian oil.
India’s daily imports of Russian crude are predicted to drop below one million barrels as New Delhi attempts to negotiate a trade deal with Washington.
Tighter US and EU sanctions have hindered Russian oil deliveries to India, which fell to a three-year low of about 1.2 million bpd in December, according to sources and analytics firm Kpler. That is a roughly 40% drop from a peak of nearly 2 million bpd in June.
China is another significant buyer of Russian crude. But thus far, Trump hasn’t penalized Beijing for its oil imports. However, the planned legislation may change that.
What Trump has said
Trump recently claimed that because of the taxes New Delhi had to pay to purchase Moscow’s energy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “not happy” with him. “He and I have a great friendship. “You know they’re paying a lot of tariffs now because they’re not doing the oil, but they are, as you know, reducing it very substantially from Russia, so he’s not that happy with me,” said Trump.
If Trump signs the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, tensions between the US and India could worsen. The law would “allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin’s war machine,” according to Senator Graham, who announced on January 8 that Trump had approved it.
According to Graham, “This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India, and Brazil to incentivize them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine.”
Graham continued, “This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against nations like China, India, and Brazil to incentivize them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine.”
