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A senior White House economic adviser has said it is up to negotiating teams -- not him -- to determine whether a new US sanctions bill targeting Russian oil buyers will affect trade talks with India.
Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, was responding to a question from ANI. He declined to elaborate, saying only that the question was "up to the negotiators." The US Senate has moved a step closer to passing a bipartisan sanctions bill that could increase economic pressure on major buyers of Russian crude oil, including India and China. Senators voted 86-12 this week to clear an initial procedural hurdle for the legislation, formally called the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. If it becomes law, the bill would let the US president impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from countries that buy large volumes of Russian oil or gas, though it would not apply automatically and remains subject to legal and executive conditions. The bill still needs to clear the House of Representatives before it can become law. Washington maintains that the legislation aims to restrict petroleum earnings supporting Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, identifying India, China, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan as primary countries of concern. The legislative friction unfolds against the backdrop of wider India-US trade negotiations, where duty structures remain a central point of contention. In February 2026, the two countries outlined an interim trade understanding proposing a lowered reciprocal tariff rate of 18% on Indian exports, in exchange for expanded Indian procurement of US energy resources and technology. Implementation was disrupted, however, after the US Supreme Court invalidated the reciprocal tariff mechanism under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), forcing the administration to adopt a temporary Section 122 framework. Currently, under a subsequent Section 301 framework tied to forced-labour considerations, most Indian goods incur a 10% supplementary duty above standard Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) rates. Despite these shifting structures and uncertainties, both sides continue active dialogue on a transitional trade understanding designed to ease tariff pressures, broaden market access and deepen economic ties. Hassett has previously called the US-India relationship "complicated" but said he remains hopeful of a deal. (ANI)
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