US President Donald Trump has signed a new bill allowing the United States to impose additional tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy crude oil and natural gas from Russia, including India. The move comes as the US and other Western countries continue economic sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war. However, India and China have continued importing Russian crude oil at competitive prices. This issue has also affected India-US trade relations. Earlier, the US imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, but after talks in February, the additional tariff was removed and the reciprocal tariff rate was reduced to 18%. The US has also imposed a separate 10% tariff on certain Indian products over labour-related issues. The new legislation, called the “Lindsey O. Graham Russia and Iran Sanctions Act – 2026,” was passed by the US House of Representatives with 262 members voting in favour and 159 against it before being signed by Trump.
Under the new law, the US President has the authority to impose tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods and up to 100% on countries purchasing oil from Russia. India, China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Singapore, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan and Slovakia are among the countries included under the tariff provisions. Responding to the move, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that the country remains committed to protecting the energy security of its 1.4 billion people. India said it would continue importing fuel from different countries based on international market conditions and take necessary steps to protect its trade and economic interests. Meanwhile, concerns have also been raised in the US that higher tariffs could increase the prices of essential goods. The latest decision could have an impact on global trade, energy prices, India-US relations and India’s imports of Russian crude oil.
