|
The US Senate has passed Russia Sanctions Bill that carries the name of late Senator Lindsey Graham that could impose upto a 100% tariff on the top five countries, including China and India, that purchase Russian crude oil and natural gas.
The bill was passed through the Senate on bipartisan vote, 86 to 11. It would next need a vote in the US House of Representative before it can become law. CNN reported that the bill could place mandatory sanctions on top figures in the Russian government, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, and foreign companies supporting Russia's defence industrial base. The bill allows an exemption for countries that import less than 15% of Russia's total natural gas exports. Earlier, Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told ANI that it wa up to negotiating teams -- not him -- to determine whether a new US sanctions bill targeting Russian oil buyers will affect trade talks with India. Hassett was responding to a question from ANI. He declined to elaborate, saying only that the question was "up to the negotiators." US Senators voted 86-12 earlier in this week to clear an initial procedural hurdle for the legislation, formally called the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. 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 action 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)
|
