US Senate Softens Russia Sanctions Bill: India Faces 100% Tariff Threat Instead Of 500%

The United States Senate introduced a revised Russia sanctions bill on Tuesday that reduces the tariff exposure for India and other major buyers of Russian energy, cutting the maximum penalty from 500% to 100% and limiting its application to just five countries.

The legislation, originally introduced in April 2025 by the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, has been reworked after months of negotiations to secure President Donald Trump's backing.

Graham had announced during a visit to Ukraine just one day before his death last week that he had reached an agreement with Trump to advance the bill.

What Changed And What Stayed

The original Sanctioning Russia Act 2025 proposed a blanket 500% tariff on all countries knowingly purchasing Russian oil, natural gas, uranium and other petroleum products. The revised version narrows that significantly:

• Maximum tariff: Reduced from 500% to 100%.

• Who it applies to: Only the five largest purchasers of Russian crude.

• The five named buyers: China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan.

• Natural gas exemption: Countries importing less than 15% of Russia's natural gas exports and taking meaningful steps to reduce those imports may be exempt.

• Countries potentially benefiting from the gas exemption: Japan, France, Hungary and Belgium.

Beyond Tariffs

The bill also proposes fresh sanctions targeting the following:

• Russia's shadow fleet of oil tankers operating outside Western maritime services.

• The Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

• Major state-backed energy projects including Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 1, 2 and 3.

• Other Russian financial institutions and defence industrial base entities.

The revised version gives the US president authority to waive sanctions when doing so is considered to be in the national interest.

Political Momentum

Senate aides said the bill had 26 co-sponsors as of Tuesday with more expected and expressed confidence it had a clear path to passage. Trump said at the White House that the bill had a good chance of becoming law, framing it as a tribute to Graham.

India has been among the largest buyers of discounted Russian crude since Western sanctions were imposed on Moscow following the Ukraine invasion, making the tariff provisions directly relevant to Indian energy import policy.

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