The U.S. Senate has passed, with overwhelming majority, a Bill that could once again see massive tariffs of up to 100% being levied on India for its import of Russian oil.
The Senate voted 86-11 to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.
The Bill will now need to pass in the House of Representatives before it becomes law.
China and India are the top two importers of Russian crude oil.
Further, Russian crude accounted for more than 40% of Indian crude oil imports in May 2026 and more than 50% in June 2026.
The U.S. Senate has passed, with overwhelming majority, a Bill that could once again see massive tariffs of up to 100% being levied on India for its import of Russian oil.
The Senate voted 86-11 to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The Bill will now need to pass in the House of Representatives before it becomes law. It will likely be introduced in that House some time in September after the Congressional summer recess comes to an end.
Imposing sanctions
According to Senate documents, the bipartisan Act “is designed to deprive Vladimir Putin of the revenue financing Russia’s war against Ukraine” by imposing sanctions on Russia’s political leadership, financial institutions, energy sector, and sanctions-evasion networks.
As per the Bill, the U.S. would after 30 days of its passage impose a tariff of 100% on the import of goods originating in a country that met one of two broad criteria. India runs the risk of qualifying under at least one of the criteria.
First, the tariffs would apply on a country that was among the five largest importers, by total volume, of crude oil or natural gas originating from Russia during the 12 months preceding the date of the enactment of the Act, and that then proceeds to import oil or gas from Russia after 30 days of the enactment of the Act.
This is the criteria that could impact India. China and India are the top two importers of Russian crude oil. Further, Russian crude accounted for more than 40% of Indian crude oil imports in May 2026 and more than 50% in June 2026.
Scaling this back drastically within 30 days at a time when passage through the Strait of Hormuz is still constrained would be very difficult for India.
The second criterion for the tariffs is if a country was among the top five nations “facilitating Russian oil sanctions evasion during the 12 months preceding the date of the enactment of the Act”.
India runs a much lower risk of qualifying for tariffs under this criterion as Indian oil marketing companies have repeatedly said that all their purchases have been made without violating sanctions.
Over and above
If the 100% tariffs were levied on India, this would be the highest tariff level so far that India would have had to face during the second term of Donald Trump’s presidency. This would come on top of a 10% tariff that the U.S. currently imposes on imports from India as a penalty for not doing enough to stop the import of goods made using forced labour.
The U.S. is currently conducting another investigation on India and other trade partners into whether they are using excess capacity to export to the U.S. in a manner that is hurting the American economy. This investigation could result in still higher tariffs.
