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India may face heat as US revives Russia sanctions push
The legislation proposes sanctions on countries purchasing Russian oil, natural gas, uranium and petroleum products, of which India is also one.
In a move that could have implications for India, four US Senators announced on Friday that they had reached an agreement with the Trump administration to push forward legislation to impose sanctions on countries purchasing Russian energy. Two Democrats and two Republicans - including close Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham - made the announcement.
“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. As Russia intensifies its slaughter of civilians, it is imperative that the legislative and executive branches work together to create tools to exact a heavy price on those who buy Russian oil and natural gas, fueling the Putin war machine,” the four Senators said in a statement. Graham was joined by his Republican colleague Senator Roger Wicker and Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen.
The four senators have been key supporters of the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which proposes American tariffs on goods and services exports from countries that purchase Russian-origin oil, natural gas, uranium and petroleum products. The bill made a provision for a 500% US tariff on countries purchasing Russian energy, which Senator Blumenthal referred to as “bone-crushing”. However, the proposed bill also allows the President of the United States to issue a waiver of 180 days to a particular country in case “if the President determines that such a waiver is in the national security interests of the United States”. Reports in the US media indicated that the bill had subsequently undergone changes, including softening the tariff provisions. However, the exact details of the changed legislation are awaited.
Also read: Why US ‘allowed’ India to purchase Russian oil despite tariff tensions
The bill found significant support in the US Senate, with 84 senators acting as co-sponsors for the legislation. It received heightened attention after US President Donald Trump said he was considering the bill in an effort to push Russia to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war. However, despite Graham’s previous statements that Trump had agreed to support the legislation, the Sanctioning Russia Act has not been passed more than a year after it was first introduced.
India a target?
India has been an explicit target of the legislation.
“To China and India: if you continue to prop up Putin’s war machine, you’ll have nobody to blame but yourself,” Senator Graham wrote on X in June 2025 in connection with the legislation.
India continued to purchase Russian oil after the US Treasury issued a general license in the aftermath of the US-Iran war allowing the purchase of Russian energy without attracting US sanctions. However, the license expired on June 17.
