The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) passed a legislation targeting Russia’s energy sector, individuals and “shadow fleet” of tankers, including authorising the U.S. President to impose tariffs of up to 100% on India and other countries for buying oil and gas from Russia. The House voted ​262-159 ⁠in favour ⁠of the Bill.

The Bill, which will now be sent President Donald Trump for his signature, could result in significant U.S. tariffs on India.

This Bill comes as New Delhi and Washington have been negotiating a preliminary trade deal, while India has increased its purchase of Russian oil in comparison to last year. The President will have the authority, under the legislation, to waive sanctions in national interest.

What the Bill says on potential target countries

Countries that would be potential targets for the tariff are the top five “largest importers, by total volume” of Russian-origin crude oil or natural gas in the 12 months preceding the date of enactment of the law, and have knowingly made new purchases of Russian crude oil after 30 days from the date the Bill becomes law.

A country that is among the top five countries “facilitating Russian oil sanctions evasion” would also be eligible for the tariffs of up to 100%.

Countries that have taken significant steps to reduce their Russian natural gas imports or whose gas import was less than 15% of Russia’s total gas export, would be exempt from the sanctions.

A House amendment proposed by Democrat Steny Hoyer that sought to name the top 10 importers — China, India, Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Slovakia, the UAE and the Kyrgyz Republic — had not passed into the final version considered on Wednesday (September 16, 2026).

New Delhi’s import of Russian oil hit a 11-month high in April this year following the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran.

Earlier, India had cut back on purchases of Russian oil, hitting a 38-month low in December 2025. The Trump administration had announced an additional 25%, on top of an existing 25%, tariff on India for the purchase of Russian energy. The U.S. Treasury paused sanctions for oil shipments that were in transit before March 11, 2026, as supplies were hit following the U.S.-Iran conflict.

The latest Bill, an amendment to the Senate’s “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026”, will now head to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.

Concerns over sweeping powers to the President

The Bill, named for a prominent Ukraine supporter Mr, Graham — who died suddenly on July 11 this year —  had passed the Senate 86-11 on August 7. Several prominent Democrats like Elizabeth Warren and those caucusing with Democrats like Bernie Sanders, as well as some Republicans, such as Rand Paul, had opposed the Bill, concerned over the sweeping powers it would give the President or the cost it would impose, via tariffs, on Americans.

Several lawmakers have been concerned that the ability of Mr. Trump to impose tariffs on U.S. allies —such as Canada and the European Union in its entirety— would be bolstered by the Act.

The Ranking Member (i.e., from the chamber’s minority or Democratic party) of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC), Gregrory Meeks, criticised the Bill. “We cannot grant the President more tariff power that , we know, he will abuse,” Mr. Meeks said, adding that it would cost at least $3000 per American family, assuming Mr. Trump restricted tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil.

In remarks on Tuesday (September 15, 2026), Mr. Meeks had emphasised that he supported sanctions on Russia, arguing that the President already had powers to sanction Russia but was not using them.

A Bill seeking to impose 100% tariffs on five countries, including India and China, for buying Russian oil, while exempting European nations purchasing gas from Moscow, was introduced in the U.S. Senate with the support of over 60 lawmakers.

The Bill, introduced on Thursday (July 16, 2026), was conceived by Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal and late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

It is designed to deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin of revenue used to finance the war against Ukraine by imposing mandatory sanctions on Russia’s political leadership, financial institutions, energy sector, and sanctions evasion networks.

Mr. Blumenthal had said on Tuesday (July 14, 2026) that the proposed legislation was aimed at imposing 100% tariffs on five major purchasers of Russian oil — China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan.

The text of the Bill introduced in the Senate on Thursday (July 16, 2026) imposes tariffs on imports from countries that are the world’s top five purchasers of Russian crude oil or natural gas or are among the top five facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion.

The Bill exempts countries, mostly European nations, whose imports of Russian natural gas account for less than 15% of Russia’s total natural gas exports and which are taking significant steps to reduce those imports.

It also calls for the U.S. Trade Representative to reassess the top five purchasers every 180 days and adjust tariff rates based on changes in purchasing patterns.

The proposed legislation exempts the purchase of Russian uranium by the U.S. for its nuclear reactors and medical isotopes requirements. It also excludes activities carried out under the U.S.-Russia cooperation in the nuclear and space sectors.

Named the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, the bill is a tribute to Graham, who died on Saturday (July 11, 2026).

An earlier version of the Bill sought to impose 500% tariffs on purchasers of oil and gas from Russia.

If enacted, it would mark the first time the U.S. Congress has explicitly authorised the use of tariffs as a geopolitical weapon to punish countries financing another nation’s war effort.

“Until the very day he passed, Lindsey remained focused on passing the Russia sanctions Bill. Passing this legislation would honour my brother’s steadfast commitment to our national security, and it would provide President Trump with additional leverage to bring this war to an end,” Senator Darline Graham said.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this legislation and send it to President Trump’s desk,” said Ms. Darline, Lindsey’s sister who was appointed to the Senate to complete his remaining term in office.

Last month, the U.S. proposed imposing a 12.5% tariff on 54 countries, including India, for allegedly failing to prohibit the import of goods produced using forced labour.

The U.S. has said it is “very excited” to have extended an invitation to India to join the Pax Silica initiative on supply chain security and will be soon signing with the Indian government, underlining there is “very positive momentum” in relations with New Delhi.

Highlighting the “great relationship” between U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Washington also stressed that India is probably the only other country on Earth to be able to “rival China” in terms of the sheer volume of its human talent. “We are very excited to have extended an invitation for India to join” Pax Silica, and “I’ll be travelling to India in just a couple weeks for a major signing with the Indian government,” Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg told reporters on Friday (February 6, 2026).

The U.S. had last year in December launched ‘Pax Silica’, a strategic initiative to build a secure, prosperous, and innovation driven silicon supply chain—from critical minerals and energy inputs to advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, AI infrastructure, and logistics. The signatories are Australia, Greece, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. India was not included in the initial group of countries for the Pax Silica initiative. 

Mr. Helberg added that while the Pax Silica was launched in December, and by January, the U.S. had “already had a meeting of the minds” around India joining Pax Silica. “And so we’re very pleased at the pace at which things have been moving in a very positive direction with our partners in India,” Mr. Helberg said during a briefing organised by the Washington Foreign Press Centre on the Critical Minerals Ministerial that the U.S. hosted last week.

 “India is also home to a large – very large mining and processing operations, which obviously holds great promise to make significant contributions to the supply chain ecosystem. And so there’s a lot of terrain in which we will be able to partner on with India,” he said.

Mr. Helberg further pointed out that outside of China, “India is probably the only other country on Earth to be able to rival China with respect to the breadth and depth of the sheer volume of young, technically trained talent, human talent.”  

“We view India very positively, and President Trump has a great relationship with [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi,” he added.

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Mr. Helberg also said that “we’re very excited and very proud about the bilateral trade deal being concluded with India.” Mr. Helberg’s comment about the trade deal came just hours before India and the U.S. issued a joint statement announcing that the two sides have reached a framework for an Interim Agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade.  Under the agreement, India will eliminate or reduce tariffs on all U.S. industrial goods and a wide range of U.S. food and agricultural products, including dried distillers’ grains, red sorghum for animal feed, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, and additional products.

According to the joint statement, the U.S. will reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18%. U.S. President Donald Trump also issued an Executive Order removing the punitive 25% tariffs imposed on India for its purchases of Russian oil.  Mr. Helberg further said that India and the United States are two very large countries, with America by far the world’s largest economy and India the world’s largest country demographically and a very young country, very fast-growing economy. “So for us to align on things, it takes a little bit more work because of the sheer size of our countries,” he said, responding to a question on the role the U.S. envisages for India in Pax Silica and why the country was not initially included in the initiative.

During the briefing, Mr. Helberg spoke about the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting hosted in Washington on February 4, 2026 by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The ministerial brought together 55 delegations to explore ways to diversify and secure global critical minerals supply chains. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar participated in the ministerial and, in his remarks, “underlined challenges of excessive concentration and the importance of de-risking supply chains through structured international cooperation.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has claimed that India has “stopped” buying oil from Russia after U.S. President Donald Trump imposed a 25% tariff on countries purchasing oil from Moscow.

Mr. Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on India, including 25% for its purchases of Russian oil.

Speaking with Fox Business, Mr. Bessent said, “India started buying Russian oil after the (Ukraine) conflict began, but President Trump put a 25% tariff on them, and India has geared down and has stopped buying Russian oil.”

India had described the U.S. action as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable” while maintaining that its energy policy is guided by its own national interest.

A Bill introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham has proposed a 500% tariff on secondary purchase and reselling of Russian oil. The proposal has near-unanimous backing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

While speaking on the Bill, Mr. Bessent said that it is a proposal that Senator Graham has in front of the Senate and “we will see whether that passes. We don’t believe that President Trump needs that authority, that he can do it under IEEPA, but that the Senate wants to give him that authority.”

Mr. Bessent also accused Europe of buying Russian oil and funding Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“And just, just to be clear that we have Europe buying Russian oil, still, still, or four years later, they are financing the war against themselves,” Mr. Bessent added.

India fell to third place among buyers of Russian fossil fuels in December after Reliance Industries and state-owned refiners sharply cut crude oil imports, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, emerged as the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (December 8, 2025) indicated that he may introduce new tariffs on agricultural imports, particularly Indian rice and fertiliser from Canada, as trade discussions with both countries continue without major progress.

Mr Trump made the comments during a White House meeting where he unveiled $12 billion in new support for American farmers. He said imports were challenging domestic producers and reiterated his intent to address the issue.

The president said he would “take care” of the alleged dumping of Indian rice into the U.S. Farmers have pointed to falling rice prices, claiming imports from countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand are undercutting their crops. “They shouldn’t be dumping,” Mr. Trump said. “I mean, I heard that, I heard that from others. You can’t do that.”

He also suggested possible tariff measures on fertiliser coming from Canada to encourage local production. “A lot of it does come in from Canada, and so we’ll end up putting very severe tariffs on that, if we have to, because that’s the way you want to bolster here,” he said, adding, “And we can do it here. We can all do that here.”

The remarks come amid ongoing economic pressures, including concerns about inflation and consumer prices. Farmers, a key support base for Mr. Trump, have faced rising costs and market challenges linked to tariff policies.

Negotiations with both Canada and India aimed at stabilising trade ties have encountered difficulties. Earlier this year, Mr. Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods, citing trade barriers and energy purchases. A U.S. delegation is expected to visit India this week for further talks, although no major breakthrough is anticipated.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday (December 8, 2025) indicated that he may introduce new tariffs on agricultural imports, particularly Indian rice and fertiliser from Canada, as trade discussions with both countries continue without major progress.

Mr Trump made the comments during a White House meeting where he unveiled $12 billion in new support for American farmers. He said imports were challenging domestic producers and reiterated his intent to address the issue.

The president said he would “take care” of the alleged dumping of Indian rice into the U.S. Farmers have pointed to falling rice prices, claiming imports from countries like India, Vietnam and Thailand are undercutting their crops. “They shouldn’t be dumping,” Mr. Trump said. “I mean, I heard that, I heard that from others. You can’t do that.”

He also suggested possible tariff measures on fertiliser coming from Canada to encourage local production. “A lot of it does come in from Canada, and so we’ll end up putting very severe tariffs on that, if we have to, because that’s the way you want to bolster here,” he said, adding, “And we can do it here. We can all do that here.”

The remarks come amid ongoing economic pressures, including concerns about inflation and consumer prices. Farmers, a key support base for Mr. Trump, have faced rising costs and market challenges linked to tariff policies.

Negotiations with both Canada and India aimed at stabilising trade ties have encountered difficulties. Earlier this year, Mr. Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Indian goods, citing trade barriers and energy purchases. A U.S. delegation is expected to visit India this week for further talks, although no major breakthrough is anticipated.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on Sunday (December 7, 2025) said it had not issued any advisory to pause or halt new financing for the sector.

The clarification came after Reuters reported on Friday (December 5) that the Ministry had urged lenders to proceed slowly in financing new solar module plants because supply had exceeded demand.

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The New And Renewable Energy Ministry’s letter rattled solar manufacturers in the country, with many raising concerns that the move could choke financing for the entire sector.

On Sunday (December 7), the Ministry said that it had asked the Finance Ministry to advise lenders to adopt a “calibrated and well-informed approach” when evaluating proposals for additional standalone solar photovoltaic module capacity, citing oversupply risks. It added that the advisory was not intended to stop funding for the entire clean energy sector.

“This broad-based caution, if applied without distinction, could hurt solar cell manufacturing,” said Chetan Shah, the chairman and managing director of Solex Energy.

“Restricting financing now will disrupt under-construction projects and deepen reliance on imported cells,” he said.

Several firms ramped up module production in recent years, betting on exports to the U.S. But higher American tariffs and tighter scrutiny of Indian shipments for Chinese-origin components have hit exports, raising fears of a glut at home.

India’s module capacity is projected to surge by a third to 200 gigawatts (GW) in the next few years, while cell output could quadruple to 100 GW, according to the Ministry.

The Ministry remained committed to strengthening solar manufacturing through policy support and infrastructure development, it said on Sunday (December 7).

The higher tariffs imposed on Indian goods by American President Donald Trump would have a long-term impact, especially for India’s marine exports, officials of the Union Ministry of Commerce told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) headed by senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal.

The PAC met to deliberate the ‘Performance audit report on the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme.

There were several questions on the impact of U.S. tariffs on Indian exports. Rajesh Agarwal, Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, maintained that anxiety over the adverse impact on the Indian pharmaceutical sector was unfounded, since India’s key competitor in this sector was China, which was also reeling under similar tariffs, sources said. He acknowledged that the high tariffs will have a negative long-term effect on trade.

There were several questions on India’s marine exports from both sides of the aisle, including from the PAC Chairperson, Mr. Venugopal. Several members pointed out that many of India’s coastal towns would be directly impacted if shrimp exports declined drastically.

The U.S. has imposed high tariffs, notably a 50% duty implemented in August 2025, which significantly impact India’s marine exports, especially of shrimp, with shrimp exports facing an effective levy exceeding 58% when combined with existing duties. Mr. Agarwal, sources said, conceded that the high tariff barrier had placed India at a disadvantage when compared with its competitors.

Mr. Agarwal, sources said, informed the panel that India was actively working on opening up new markets via Free Trade Agreements with other regions, including the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) bloc (comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), and the U.K., which would “eliminate existing duties”.

EU negotiators were recently in India to discuss these agreements, Mr. Agarwal told the panel, according to sources, and he went on to add that India was focusing on market diversification by successfully pushing for the registration of more marine export units in the EU, and engaging in discussions with other countries, including Russia.

The committee expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of clear outcomes from the Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme, a policy aimed at facilitating the import of capital goods for producing quality goods and services to enhance India’s manufacturing competitiveness. Under the scheme, duties worth ₹42,714 crore were forgone between financial years 2018-19 to 2020-21. The panel has directed the government to come up with clear answers on how it has helped growth in the manufacturing sector.