US Sanctions on Russia May Cripple India's Oil Imports

Russian grades constituted around 39% of India's oil imports in May

- S DINAKAR

A powerful senator in America has sponsored a Bill increasing sanctions on Russian crude oil after Russian President Vladimir Putin last weekend bombed Ukraine.

The Bill, if cleared, will cripple India's import of Russian oil, according to industry officials and the ship-tracking data.

New measures from America are "secondary sanctions", like a 500 per cent tariff on countries buying Russian energy, targeting India and China. The proposed law endangers supplies of nearly two million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude oil imported by India, worth around $154 million, at the rates worked out in February, according to calculations by Business Standard based on the Indian Customs data.

On an annualised basis, India bought Russian crude oil worth around $50 billion in 2024-25. That's around 35 per cent of India's crude oil import bill, the Customs data show.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers are lobbying President Donald Trump to significantly increase sanctions, CNN has reported. "All of us, by our public statements as well as private contacts, are pressing very, very hard," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told CNN on Monday.