‘Russian oil buyers will have to pay': US senator backs bill threatening higher tariffs on India

The act will grant the Trump administration the authority to place tariffs of up to 100% on the five top purchasers of Russian oil and gas, including India.

As the US House of Representatives cleared a bill posing a threat of up to 100% tariffs on India, China and other countries, a senator backed the proposal, saying a “strong message” was needed for countries buying Russian oil.

“We need to send a very strong message, not just to Vladimir Putin, but to anybody who is buying Russian oil and gas, that they are going to pay a price for that,” said Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen on Thursday after the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 bill cleared the House.

The act, which will grant the Trump administration the authority to place tariffs of up to 100 per cent on the five top purchasers of Russian oil and gas, was passed in the US House of Representatives by a 262-159 margin.

The bill, which is likely to target India, China, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan, will now head to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law.

‘Russian oil going to India, China’

Shaheen backed the bill, accusing Russia of fighting its war against Ukraine, from revenue earned by selling oil and gas to India and China, among others, at less than market rates.

“Russia is funding its war in Ukraine with revenues from oil and gas. And they're getting that oil and gas sold by using the shadow fleet, which means that it's being bought at less-than-market rates. And it's going mostly to countries like China and India,” she said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.