US Eases Proposed 500% Tariff on Russian Oil Buyers, Benefiting India and China
US lawmakers have unveiled a revised version of the Russia sanctions bill, easing the original proposal of a 500 per cent tariff on nations that import Russian energy, including India and China. The revised bill, introduced by the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, now caps potential tariffs on the top five purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas at a maximum of 100 per cent.
The bill aims to increase economic pressure on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine, which has resulted in significant casualties and damage. It seeks to reduce the dependence of countries like China and India on Russian energy supplies.
The new version includes exceptions for nations that import less than 15 per cent of Russia's natural gas exports and are actively working to reduce those imports. This could exempt countries such as Japan, France, Hungary, and Belgium.
The measure also imposes sanctions on Russia's shadow fleet of tankers that operate outside Western maritime services, Russian financial institutions including the Central Bank, and major state-owned energy projects like Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 1, 2, and 3. Additionally, the bill allows President Donald Trump to waive these sanctions if he deems it in the US national interest.
Senator Graham, who died last week, had announced an agreement with President Trump to advance the bill. Senate aides reported 26 co-sponsors and expressed confidence in its passage. “We’re pretty confident on its path,” one aide said.
The bill is a softened version of the original introduced by Graham and Blumenthal in April 2025. A Senate aide explained that months of negotiations with the Trump administration led to the revisions. “This is the only product that currently has buy-in from everybody and is likely the only product that is going to move forward and put pressure on Russia the way we would all like to get,” the aide said.
President Trump suggested adding sanctions on Iran and Hezbollah to the bill, calling it a “very big thing.” He expressed optimism about the bill becoming law, stating, “This is in honor of Lindsey. This was his thing. He wanted this more than anything. You know how he felt, and there's a good chance that it gets done.”
Senator Blumenthal urged caution against adding new targets, saying, “With all due respect to the president, he has approved this bill, and we should move forward with this bill rather than opening it, in my view, to other potential targets.”
A second Senate aide noted that the bill already exposes countries like Iran that cooperate with Russia's defense industrial base to sanctions and tariffs.
