More than 60 of the US Senate’s 100 members — including Senate Majority Leader John Thune — on Thursday backed a new bill that would grant President Donald Trump the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and four other countries for purchasing Russian oil, in a legislative push that has gained fresh momentum following the death of its chief architect, Senator Lindsey Graham.
The bill, formally named the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, has secured the backing of 62 senators from both parties, according to a Senate Foreign Relations Committee statement — enough to clear the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. A filibuster refers to a political tactic in U.S. politics wherein Senators try to delay or block a vote on a measure by extending debate on the issue indefinitely. It has also obtained the backing of the White House and could be passed before August, according to its supporters.
Among its lead sponsors is Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham’s sister, who was appointed by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster to serve out his term and sworn into the Senate on July 14 — two days before the bill’s formal introduction. Graham, the first woman to represent South Carolina in the Senate, introduced the bill alongside Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen.
Lindsey Graham, who spearheaded the legislation with Blumenthal over more than a year, died suddenly on July 11 of an aortic dissection. He had secured the White House’s agreement on the bill’s text days earlier, after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
{{/usCountry}}Lindsey Graham, who spearheaded the legislation with Blumenthal over more than a year, died suddenly on July 11 of an aortic dissection. He had secured the White House’s agreement on the bill’s text days earlier, after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
{{/usCountry}}The bill would grant the Trump administration authority to place tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas. Senators have clarified that the tariffs would currently target China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan for their oil purchases. The legislation also provides for tariffs on the five countries doing the most to help Russia evade existing sanctions. The exact tariff rate on each country would be set by the US Trade Representative.
The bill provides significant exemptions for European allies that continue to purchase Russian natural gas. “The bill exempts countries whose Russian natural gas imports account for less than 15 percent of Russia’s total natural gas exports and that are taking significant steps to reduce those imports. The bill calls for USTR to reassess the top 5 purchasers every 180 days and can adjust tariff rates based on changes in purchasing behavior,” according to a summary released by the bill’s Senate backers. The text also includes an exemption for American purchases of Russian low-enriched uranium used in US nuclear reactors.
Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to a question on US senators from the Republican and Democratic parties unveiling a bill that seeks to use tariffs to pressure China and India to reduce their dependence on Russian energy by saying that New Delhi is “closely following these developments”.
The legislation is a softened version of the original Sanctioning Russia Act, introduced in the Senate in April 2025, which had proposed tariffs as high as 500% on countries purchasing Russian energy, including India. The top-line tariff has been brought down to 100%, and its scope narrowed from a broad swathe of countries to the five-largest purchasers. The bill also contains a waiver provision allowing the president to suspend the sanctions and duties on a country, provided he certifies to Congress that doing so serves the US national interest.