India, others at risk of up to 100% tariffs as US Senate passes Russia sanctions bill

The US Senate has passed the Russia sanctions bill which puts India and four other countries at the risk of 100% tariffs. This sweeping sanctions legislation, authored by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, was passed on Tuesday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Capitol.

The bill aims to increase economic pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. After China, India is the second-largest buyer of Russian crude oil.

The tally was 86 to 12 in favor on a procedural vote to advance the bill, which seeks to impose sanctions on Russian officials and authorise steep tariffs on India, China, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan in order reduce their dependence on Russian energy.

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Introduced in April 2025, Graham earlier this year announced that the bill had been greenlit by President Donald Trump amid trade tensions between US and India.

The sanctions bill comes at a time when India’s dependence on Russian energy has gone up on account of the West Asia war which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The Iran-US war has choked off Gulf crude supplies that previously accounted for roughly 40% of India’s oil imports, forcing refiners to turn to Russian crude as the main alternative source.

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Senator Richard Blumenthal had earlier stated that the bill would make an exception for countries purchasing Russian gas if their purchase is less than 15 per cent of Russia’s total gas imports.

This pushed the total tariffs against India to 50 per cent, the highest along with China and Brazil. The new tariff also sparked tensions between the two allies, with trade negotiations coming to a halt.

However, with the breakout of the US-Iran war in February, the world, including India, saw itself in an energy crisis with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Amid this major disruption, the US announced a waiver on Russian oil, which allowed India to resume its purchase.

As per the US, these purchases would not bring any profits for Russia.

Amid the waiver, Indian imports of Russian crude oil rose 34% in June 2026 to record levels. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, these imports were valued at €4.5 billion, accounting for roughly 36% of Russia’s crude oil export revenues.