Trump’s Tariff Fear: Russian Sanction Bill Cleared, Why India, China May Face 100% Tariff?

The US President Donald Trump has just escalated another tariff fear, and countries like China and India will face the burden of it. Trump has signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 bill, eventually making ways to impose 100% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and gas. India is one of the countries who import oil from Russia, although the percentage has dropped significantly.

Trump’s approval arrived after the Russian sanction bill received a majority vote of 262-159 in the Republic-led House of Representatives two days ago.

What Is The New Russian Sanction Bill?

As per the US Congress Government Bill website, this imposes a variety of sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions related to Russia.

These include:

• impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on specified persons (individuals and entities) such as the Russian president, certain Russian military commanders, and any foreign person that knowingly provides goods or services relating to Russia’s defense industrial base.
• increase the rate of duty on all goods imported into the United States from Russia to a rate of up to 500% ad valorem (i.e., relative to the value).
• increase the rate of duty up to 100% ad valorem on all goods imported into the United States from a country that was among the five largest importers of Russian-origin crude oil or natural gas if such country knowingly makes new purchases of such products after enactment of the bill.
• impose property-blocking sanctions on financial institutions organized under Russian law and owned wholly or partly by Russia; and
• impose property-blocking sanctions on foreign vessels that knowingly transport certain products of Russian origin, including crude oil, uranium, and coal.

Moreover, the bill prohibits the export, reexport, or in-country transfer to or in Russia of U.S.-produced energy or energy products. Also, it prohibits U.S. persons from making new investments in Russia or purchasing Russian sovereign debt. Additionally, it prohibits trading the securities of Russian government-owned, -controlled, or -affiliated entities on U.S. national securities exchanges.

Why India and China Could Face 100% Tariffs Because Of The Russian Sanction Bill?

The new Russian sanction bill aims at imposing pressure on countries that have continued to buy oil and gas from Russia since its war with Ukraine. The USA has shown solidarity with Ukraine since the Kremlin declared an all-out war in late February 2022. The USA, along with Canada and many other European countries have imposed sanctions and condemned Russia since then,.

New Delhi has expressed concerns related to the Russian sanction bill when it was cleared in the US Representative’s house. The Ministry of External Affairs said, “the impact this could have on our relationship and energy markets.”

In its statement, MEA added, “Meeting the energy requirements of our 1.4 billion people is an imperative that we have to follow, and we continue to buy energy from diversified sources.”

India and China have been long-standing, decades-old partners. India continued to buy energy-related products from Russia despite the war. As per data from Trading Economics, India’s imports from Russia skyrocketed to $40.6 billion in 2022 from merely $8.7 billion in 2021. In 2023 and 2024, their imports stood at a staggering above $67 billion. However, in 2025, the imports declined to $62.9 billion.

Among the majority of products that India imported from Russia in 2025 were mineral fuels, oils, and distillation products, with an import bill of staggering $53.84 billion, followed by fertilisers, animal and vegetable fats and oils, cleavage products. India has also imported a significant amount of commodities, pearls, precious metals, iron and steel, and aluminium, among others.

Russia continues to be India’s biggest crude importing country. The Vladimir Putin-led country accounts for over 51% of India’s total oil imports in July 2026, which is at an all-time high. Official data also showed that India’s merchandise imports from Russia climbed 57% in the first five months of FY27 to $41.44 billion from $26.45 billion between April-August last year.