New Delhi: Reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas, or risk facing unprecedented economic penalties from the United States. That’s the message the Donald Trump administration has sent to India and China through a bill passed by US House of Representatives that will allow the President to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on major buyers of Russian energy under specific circumstances.
US Senator Richard Blumenthal left no ambiguity as he warned India and China.
“To China and India: You better clean up your act. Buy your oil and gas somewhere else. Appeasement is not a strategy,” he told mediapersons after the passage of the Russia Sanctions Bill in the US Congress on Wednesday.
The legislation, which has already cleared the Senate, now goes to Trump. If the President puts his signature to formalise a law, India could face tariffs of up to 100 per cent.
India has been one of the top buyers of Russian energy since President Vladimir Putin launched a military operation against Ukraine in February 2022.
Critics of the bill – 159 voted against it and 262 backed it – pointed out that it places too much power in the President’s hands.
The bill, formally titled the ‘Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026’, also extended the period of sanctions on Iran’s energy and weapons sectors by five years.
India made it clear that the government will continue to take all necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests.