US President Trump Backs Sanctions Bill That Can Impose 500% Tariffs On India For Buying Russian Oil

8th January 2026 at 12:12 PM

1 minute read

New York : US tariffs on India and China could increase by as much as 500 per cent as early as next week, after President Donald Trump greenlit a bipartisan sanctions bill that would allow Washington to “punish” countries that “knowingly” purchase oil from Russia. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the President cleared the legislation, which will also sanction countries purchasing Russian uranium, after they held a “productive” meeting on Wednesday.

Sponsored by Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, the legislation would give President Donald Trump “tremendous leverage” over countries such as China, India and Brazil, incentivising them to stop buying discounted Russian oil that finances President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, the South Carolina Republican said in his post. This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent.

Senate and House leaders have postponed a vote on the legislation, which would also ban US exports of energy products to Moscow and bar investments in Russian energy, after Trump signaled a preference for imposing tariffs on goods imported from India, the world’s second-largest buyer of Russian oil after China. Trump escalated his tariff campaign, imposing a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian imports, along with an additional 25 per cent penalty for purchasing Russian oil, pushing total duties on some products to as high as 50 per cent.

Trump has hinted at imposing fresh tariffs on India over New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil. Over the weekend, President Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “knew I was not happy. Trump added, PM Modi’s a very good man. He’s a good guy. It was important to make me happy. They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly. The US President has threatened fresh tariffs on Indian rice after a farmer representative at a White House roundtable complained of dumping by India, China and Thailand.