Trump Gives Nod to Russia Sanctions Bill Proposing Upto 500% Tariff On Nations Buying Russian Oil

New Delhi, Jan 8 (KNN) Amid rapidly changing geopolitics with significant bearing on global trade, US President Donald Trump has given his nod to Russia Sanctions Bill which seeks to impose upto 500% tariff on countries including India, China and Brazil for purchasing Russian oil.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said that Trump greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that he has been working on for months.

"After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator Blumenthal and many others," he wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Graham said that the bill will allow President Trump to 'punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil fueling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine.'

"This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivize them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine," he said, adding that he was expecting a strong bipartisan vote as early as next week.

In response to Russia's military action against Ukraine, both the US and European Union have imposed a series of sanctions on Moscow targeting its energy sector.

Among major countries which import Russian oil are China and India. The US had earlier imposed a punitive tariff of 50% on most goods in India's export basket for importing Russian oil. Moreover, the US President continues to threaten higher tariffs if India doesn't stop buying Russian oil.

Russia has been a long-standing partner of India and the two countries are eyeing $100 billion in annual bilateral trade by 2030.

Bilateral trade between the two nations reached a record $68.7 billion in fiscal 2024-25, with Indian exports at $4.9 billion and imports from Russia at $63.8 billion (primarily crude oil, petroleum products and fertilizers.

India's decision to buy Russian oil is seen as one of the key friction points in clinching a trade deal with the US.

(KNN Bureau)