US Senators Push 100% Tariffs

on India and Four Other Nations Over Russian Oil Purchases

Report By Y-Trendz

Washington — A bipartisan group of United States senators has introduced a revised sanctions bill that would authorize tariffs of up to 100 percent on imports from five countries that continue to purchase

Russian crude oil: India, China, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan. The legislation marks Washington's latest attempt to squeeze Moscow's energy revenues nearly two and a half years into the war in Ukraine, and it arrives at a delicate moment for India, which is simultaneously negotiating a trade deal with the United States.

A Softer Version of an Earlier, Tougher Bill

The measure represents a significant scaling-back from an earlier draft of the same legislation, informally known as the Sanctioning Russia Act, which had proposed tariffs as high as 500 percent on any country buying Russian oil or gas. That earlier version languished in the Senate for more than a year without a vote, a sign of limited congressional appetite for such an aggressive trade weapon. The new draft trims the maximum tariff rate to 100 percent and, notably, comes with the backing of the White House, according to multiple reports citing Senate aides who believe the bill now has a real chance of moving through the chamber.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, one of the bill's lead sponsors, has been its most vocal public advocate in recent days. He emphasized that despite its "tariffs bill" nickname, the legislation is far more sweeping than trade policy alone. Blumenthal described it as imposing full blocking sanctions on wide swaths of the Russian economy, including its energy industry, financial industry, defence industrial base, oligarchs, business people, and Putin himself.

On the tariff mechanism specifically, Blumenthal said the provision was designed narrowly. He told reporters the tariffs would apply only to the five major purchasers of Russian oil, with a narrowly tailored waiver authority, naming China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan as the current top five buyers.

Lindsey Graham's Unfinished Legacy

The bill carries an unusually personal weight in Washington because of its connection to the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who helped negotiate and champion the sanctions package for nearly two years before his sudden death on July 12. Lawmakers have framed swift passage of the legislation partly as a tribute to Graham's efforts. Blumenthal has recounted a final conversation with Graham in which Graham, speaking from Kyiv, relayed that President Donald Trump had signaled support for the framework shortly before his death.

Trump himself has since weighed in publicly, indicating support for the bill and crediting Graham's advocacy for its momentum. The president has also floated expanding the sanctions framework further, suggesting Iran could be added to the target list and that lawmakers were discussing folding in sanctions related to Hezbollah as well — signaling the bill could grow in scope even as its core tariff rate has been reduced.

Who Is Targeted, and Who Is Exempted

The legislation zeroes in on the five countries the bill's authors identify as the largest current purchasers of Russian crude: India, China, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan. Notably, the bill carves out an exemption for 15 European nations that continue to import Russian natural gas. Sponsors have justified this distinction by arguing that gas purchases make up only a small share of those countries' total energy needs and that they are actively working to wean themselves off Russian supply, unlike the five nations singled out for oil purchases.

If enacted, supporters say the bill would represent a historic first: the explicit use of congressionally authorized tariffs as a geopolitical instrument to penalize nations for financing what lawmakers describe as another country's war effort, rather than as a traditional trade-remedy tool tied to unfair trade practices.

Importantly, the revised bill preserves presidential waiver authority, meaning Trump — or any sitting president — could exempt a country from the tariffs if doing so were judged to serve the national interest. That flexibility is seen by some observers as a release valve built into the legislation, potentially blunting its real-world impact even if it clears Congress.

Why India Is in the Crosshairs

India's inclusion on the list reflects a dramatic shift in its energy sourcing since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Prior to the war, Russia was a marginal supplier to India; today it is India's single largest source of crude. According to maritime intelligence firm Kpler, India's imports of Russian crude oil hit a record 2.58 million barrels per day in June, with Russia accounting for roughly half of India's total crude imports that month. Industry analysts say July volumes could exceed June's, partly because of fresh supply disruptions tied to escalating tension between the United States and Iran, which have pushed benchmark Brent crude prices up sharply, from about $75 a barrel a week earlier to roughly $85 a barrel by mid-July.

New Delhi has consistently defended its Russian oil purchases as a matter of national interest and energy security rather than geopolitical alignment, noting that it imports more than 88 percent of its total crude needs and that discounted Russian barrels help keep domestic fuel costs manageable for its population. Indian officials have also repeatedly stated that the country does not recognize unilateral sanctions that lack a mandate from the United Nations Security Council.

A senior Indian government official, speaking anonymously, indicated that the Senate bill has not yet come up directly in the ongoing India-US trade negotiations, though the broader interim trade agreement being discussed is expected to address tariff-related friction points more generally.

Skepticism Over the Bill's Prospects

Despite the political momentum and White House engagement, trade experts in India remain doubtful the legislation will ultimately become law, at least in its current form. Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian Trade Service officer and founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative, pointed to the earlier version's 15 months of inaction in the Senate as evidence of limited congressional enthusiasm for such sweeping tariff powers. Srivastava has argued that India should stay the course on its energy policy regardless of the legislative threat, noting that China's economic weight would make enforcement against Beijing especially difficult and could invite retaliation that complicates the bill's implementation even if passed.

Energy analysts have also raised concerns about the practical consequences of squeezing Russian oil out of global markets at a time when supply is already tight. Sumit Ritolia, a lead research analyst at Kpler, has warned that with spare production capacity limited and risks around the Strait of Hormuz elevated due to US-Iran tensions, removing Russian barrels from circulation at scale could trigger a sharp spike in global oil prices rather than a clean diplomatic win.

What Comes Next

The bill must still clear both chambers of Congress before it can be signed into law, and its final shape — including the exact tariff percentage for each targeted country, since the legislation allows for anything between zero and 100 percent — remains to be worked out. For now, the legislation stands as a signal of Washington's continued frustration with Russia's ability to fund its war effort through energy exports, even as the practical path to enforcement, and its ultimate effect on countries like India, remains far from certain.