India monitors US debate on Russia sanctions Bill enabling 100% oil tariffs

The Brics joint declaration, adopted unanimously, criticised unilateral coercive sanctions and secondary sanctions, and also unilateral tariffs and non-tariff measures.

India on Wednesday was closely monitoring developments on the US House of Representatives’ scheduled vote on a sanctions bill that would authorise US President Donald Trump with sweeping powers to impose 100 per cent primary and secondary tariffs on India, China and other countries for buying oil and gas from Russia, and extend existing sanctions on Iran.

Leaders of Russia, China and Iran, among others, attended the Brics Summit hosted in New Delhi over the weekend. The Brics joint declaration, adopted unanimously, criticised unilateral coercive sanctions and secondary sanctions, and also unilateral tariffs and non-tariff measures. New Delhi has maintained that its energy sourcing is guided by national interest. India has also asserted that its energy cooperation with Russia, including civil nuclear energy, is an important pillar of their bilateral partnership.

The US House of Representatives on Tuesday evening approved advancing the ‘Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026’ by a 214-211 vote. Two Democratic lawmakers broke ranks with the party to vote in favour of the Bill.

The House will take it up for a final vote on Wednesday, and is set break for recess on Thursday. It will reconvene on November 9 after the mid-term elections. The US Senate had passed the Bill in August with an 86-11 majority. The Bill’s passage by the House would send it to the White House for the US President to sign it into law.

The Bill will authorise Trump to also impose sanctions on the “shadow fleet” of vessels being used by Russia to evade sanctions on oil deliveries.

In the US, as well as Europe, groups sympathetic to Ukraine’s cause have campaigned that these countries need to do more to show their support for Kyiv. In her annual state of the European Union address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said Russia's "war of aggression" on Ukraine was continuing and accused Russian operatives of carrying out an attack using military-grade material on European soil.

(With inputs from agencies)