Bill Threatening 500% Tariff On India For Russia Oil Trade Gets Trump's Nod

US President Donald Trump has “greenlit" a sanctions bill that could impose 500 per cent tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, giving him “tremendous leverage” against countries like China and India to stop them from purchasing cheap oil from Moscow.

- Press Trust Of India

Senator Lindsey Graham said he had a "very productive meeting" with Trump at the White House on Wednesday, during which the President "greenlit" the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that has been in the works for months.

“This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace, and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent. This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil, fuelling Putin's war machine,” Graham said in a post on X on Wednesday.

“This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivise them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin's bloodbath against Ukraine,” he said.

Graham said he looks forward to a “strong” bipartisan vote on the bill, “hopefully as early as next week.”

Trump has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, among the highest in the world, including 25 per cent levies for its purchases of Russian energy.

Graham and Blumenthal have introduced the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which would impose secondary tariffs and sanctions on “countries that continue to fund Putin's barbaric war in Ukraine.”