A newly signed act gives the White House authority to slap duties as high as 100 percent on the biggest buyers of Russian oil, arriving just as New Delhi was hoping trade tensions with the US had begun to cool
Barely a week after hosting world leaders at the BRICS Summit and welcoming Russian President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi for bilateral talks, India finds itself facing a fresh and considerably sharper trade threat from Washington. President Donald Trump signed the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act into law on Friday, handing his administration the legal authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on countries that remain major purchasers of Russian oil and gas, with India and China squarely named among the nations the legislation targets.
The Fine Print Behind the Headline Number
The law, formally titled the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 and passed as H.R. 5334, cleared the Senate by an 86-11 margin before the House agreed to accompanying amendments. Its core mechanism requires the President to impose duties of up to 100 percent on goods imported from whichever five countries purchased the largest volumes of Russian crude oil or natural gas over the twelve months preceding the law’s enactment.
Crucially, the legislation does not trigger an automatic blanket tariff the moment it takes effect. The administration retains considerable discretion over exactly how and when to apply the measure, and the law builds in an exemption for countries whose Russian gas imports made up less than 15 percent of Russia’s total export volume during the relevant period, provided they can demonstrate meaningful steps toward reducing that dependence further. Non-exempt countries would additionally face recurring 180-day reviews, giving Washington an ongoing lever rather than a single fixed deadline.
Why India Sits at the Center of This
The numbers explain why New Delhi is watching this development so closely. According to data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, India accounts for roughly 37 percent of Russia’s crude oil exports, while China takes in around 50 percent, making the two Asian economies the natural focal points of a law explicitly designed around major Russian energy buyers. India has steadily built up its position as one of the largest importers of discounted Russian crude since the war in Ukraine reshaped global energy trade patterns, a strategy that has repeatedly put it at odds with Washington’s broader sanctions posture even as it has helped keep domestic fuel costs comparatively manageable.
This is not the first time Russian oil purchases have translated into direct trade pain for India. Just over a year ago, Washington layered an additional 25 percent tariff on top of an existing 25 percent levy specifically over India’s continued Russian oil imports, pushing total tariffs on Indian goods entering the US to 50 percent at the time. Friday’s law effectively creates a more durable statutory framework for exactly this kind of pressure, rather than leaving it dependent on individual executive orders that can shift with each new determination from the White House.
A Tool for Leverage, Not Necessarily an Immediate Hit
Trade analysts covering the legislation have been careful to frame it as a negotiating instrument rather than a guaranteed near-term tariff hike. Because Congress has now written this authority into statute rather than leaving it solely to presidential discretion, Washington gains a more permanent legal foundation for applying pressure over time, one that persists regardless of shifting political priorities within any single administration. Whether that translates into an actual 100 percent tariff on Indian goods within the law’s 30-day implementation window depends heavily on how the administration chooses to exercise the considerable discretion it has retained.
An Awkward Diplomatic Backdrop
The timing carries its own significance. The law was signed just days ahead of a planned visit to the United States by Chinese President Xi Jinping, his first in more than a decade, adding a layer of geopolitical maneuvering to a piece of legislation ostensibly centred on energy sanctions. For India, the signing also lands directly on the heels of a diplomatically active fortnight that included hosting the BRICS Summit and holding a 45-minute bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin covering nuclear energy cooperation and bilateral trade, underscoring just how tightly India’s balancing act between Washington and Moscow continues to be tested.
The Position India Has Consistently Held
New Delhi has repeatedly defended its energy purchasing decisions as a matter of national interest, arguing that securing affordable and reliable crude supplies for its economy takes precedence over aligning its import choices with sanctions regimes designed primarily around the war in Ukraine. That position is unlikely to shift overnight, even as this latest law raises the stakes considerably for how long India can continue buying discounted Russian oil without triggering the kind of tariff exposure that could meaningfully complicate its broader trade relationship with the United States in the months ahead.
