US House of Representatives passes bill imposing sanctions on Russia, threat of tariffs on India

Published 17 September 2026, 07:43 IST

Updated 2 minutes ago

Reading Time: 7 minutes

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill imposing sanctions on Russia by 262-159 votes.

This bill gives the Trump administration the right to impose tariffs up to 100% on the five largest buyer countries that buy oil and gas from Russia.

India is also included in these countries. Officially it is known as the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Rasha and Iran Act of 2026.

Under this, China, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan can also potentially be targeted. This bill has already been passed with an overwhelming majority in the Senate, so now it will be sent to President Donald Trump for signature.

However, this bill imposing sanctions on Russia does not oblige President Trump to impose tariffs on countries that buy oil and gas from Russia.

There is also a provision for important exemptions for America's European allies. Its basis is that many of these countries have made efforts to reduce energy purchases from Russia.

US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, who played a key role in supporting the bill imposing sanctions on Russia, said, "Today is a big day. Congress has sent a clear message to Putin."

This bill has come at a time when India and America are negotiating an initial trade agreement. At the same time, India has also increased the purchase of oil from Russia compared to last year. Under this law, the President will have the right to waive restrictions in the national interest.

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India's response

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India's Foreign Ministry responded to this bill on Thursday. India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement saying, "The Government of India has taken cognizance of the passage of the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in the US Parliament. We are keeping an eye on further developments in this case. As has been said on many occasions before, India is fully committed to ensuring the energy security of its 1.4 billion people. India will continue to do so depending on changing market conditions and supplies from diverse sources.

India said, "This issue has been discussed at the highest level with various representatives of the US government in recent months." From the Indian side, the possible impacts of this law have been clearly highlighted, not only in terms of bilateral relations but also in the international energy market. India has also made clear its resolve to take all necessary steps to protect its trade and economic interests. The government will work closely with Indian trade and industry organizations to deal with the impacts of these developments.

Difficulties increased for India

Ajay Srivastava, director of Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), says that this bill will increase India's problems.

He has written on Twitter, "In the financial year 2026, Russia's share in India's crude oil imports was 30.3 percent. Of India's total crude oil imports of $134.7 billion, $40.8 billion came from Russia. In July 2026 alone, Russia's share in India's total oil imports was more than half.

''India buys Russian oil to ensure cheap and affordable energy for its 1.4 billion people, not to escalate wars. "These purchases have also helped keep Russian oil in the global market, contributing to stable international supply and prices."

“Tariffs of up to 100 percent could hurt Indian exporters, increase costs for American consumers, and give the US President extraordinary power over major trading partners. Tariffs on Russian oil could be another step by the Trump administration to put pressure on India to sign the proposed trade agreement on extremely unequal terms.

Potential targets of the tariffs would be the five countries that have been the largest importers of Russian crude oil or natural gas by volume in the 12 months preceding the date of enactment and that have made any deliberate new purchases of Russian crude oil within 30 days after the bill's enactment.

Additionally, any country among the five largest countries that helps Russia avoid oil sanctions could also be subject to tariffs of up to 100%.

However, countries that have taken significant steps to reduce natural gas imports from Russia, or whose gas imports account for less than 15% of Russia's total gas exports, will be exempted from these restrictions.

The bill was also opposed

Democrat MP Steny Hoyer had introduced an amendment, which proposed to include China, India, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Slovakia, UAE and Kyrgyz Republic in the bill, the top 10 countries importing oil from Russia. However, this amendment could not be included in the final version of the bill considered on Wednesday.

After the bill passed, Hoyer wrote on

India's oil imports from Russia reached the highest level in 11 months in April this year after America and Israel's war with Iran.

Earlier, India had reduced the purchase of oil from Russia and in December 2025 it reached its lowest level in 38 months. The Trump administration had announced to impose an additional 25% tariff on India for purchasing energy from Russia, in addition to the already imposed 25% tariff. Amid supply disruptions following the US-Iran conflict, the US Treasury had temporarily halted sanctions on oil shipments that were in transit before March 11, 2026.

The name of Lindsey Graham, who has been critical of India due to its business ties with Russia, has been linked to this bill. Graham died suddenly on July 11 this year. This bill was passed by the US Senate on August 7 by 86-11 votes.

In addition to several prominent Democratic lawmakers, such as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, some Republican lawmakers, such as Rand Paul, also opposed the bill. They were concerned that this would give sweeping powers to the President and the costs could fall on American citizens through tariffs.

Many lawmakers were also concerned that this legislation would further increase President Trump's ability to impose tariffs on America's allies, such as Canada and the entire European Union.

What did Zelensky say about this bill?

Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, i.e. the top member of the minority or Democratic Party in the House, criticized the bill. Meeks said, "We cannot give the President more powers to impose tariffs that we know he will abuse."

He said that even if President Trump limits tariffs on the top five countries importing oil from Russia, it will still cost every American family at least $3,000.

In his statement on Tuesday, Meeks had said that he is in support of imposing sanctions on Russia. He had argued that the President already has the powers to impose sanctions on Russia, but he is not using them.

New York Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, speaking in opposition to the bill, said that Democrats will continue to support the Ukrainian people until victory is achieved, "but this bill does not provide a path to achieving that goal."

Overall, 58 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, taking a different stance than Jeffries, while 152 voted against it. Among Republican lawmakers, 203 voted in favor of the bill and seven voted against it.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson said, "For too long Putin has been waging this destructive war with funding and resources from countries that are willing to turn a blind eye to it, and today it ends."

Before the voting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky took to social media and appealed to the US House to pass the bill. He said that during war it is sometimes "better to take a decision that is not entirely correct" than to do nothing.

"And this is a very important historic moment for America. This bill should be passed, it should be voted on, and it should be supported," Zelensky said on X.

He said, "In addition, it is also important for the US administration to take strong decisions. President Trump's personal decisions are also important. I am hopeful that we will see this happen."