500% tariffs ahead for India & China? Trump clears Russia sanctions bill; what it means

US President Donald Trump has approved a new bill that allows massive duties on countries that import Russian petroleum products. The bill, 'Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025' threatens at least 500% tariffs on countries that "knowingly engage in the exchange." US senator Lindsey Graham said that the bill, which is now headed for bipartisan approval aims to punish nations “who buy cheap Russian oil,” a move that could directly impact India’s energy imports and further strain its trade ties with Washington.

The proposed legislation sets out sweeping punitive measures that would be triggered if the US President finds that Russian government or a person acting at Russia's direction refuses to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine. The measures will also be revoked in case a negotiated peace agreement is violated, another invasion of Ukraine or involved with overthrowing is initiated, dismantling, or seeking to subvert the Ukrainian government.



The bill states that Trump "must increase the rate of duty on all goods and services imported into the United States from countries that knowingly engage in the exchange of Russian-origin uranium and petroleum products to at least 500% relative to the value of such goods and services."

Also read: Donald Trump claims PM Modi ‘not that happy’ with steep tariffs, flags delays in Apache helicopter delivery
In his post on X, Graham said, "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." Explaining the crucial timing of the bill, the executive further added, "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 fueling 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."


Earlier this week, Graham said that India was urging Washington to roll back steep tariffs imposed in August 2025, over the same issue. Graham claimed that India’s ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, met him last month to highlight New Delhi’s reduced purchases of Russian oil and to seek relief from the additional 25% duties. India and US have been working on a trade deal since months but no agreement has been sealed as of now, with the issue of Russian oil and dairy products being the major trade flashpoints. The latest trade meeting was held from December 10 to December 12, when US officials arrived in India.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One alongside Trump, the senator said, “I was at the Indian Ambassador's house a month ago, and all he wanted to talk about was how India is buying less Russian oil. And he asked me to tell the President to relieve the 25% tariff.” The tariffs were imposed in August, with the US arguing that India’s energy trade with Russia was indirectly supporting Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine. With the extra levy, total duties on certain Indian goods rose to 50%.

Trump has openly acknowledged that the tariffs have strained ties with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing the House GOP Member Retreat, he said PM Modi was unhappy with the trade measures but pointed to a reduction in oil imports from Russia. “He’s not that happy with me because, you know, they’re paying a lot of tariffs now because they’re not doing the oil, but they are — they’ve now reduced it very substantially, as you know, from Russia,” Trump said.

Also read: US says India sought relief from 25% duties, claims New Delhi 'buying less Russian oil'
The US President has repeatedly warned India that tariffs could be increased further if it does not “help on the Russian oil issue,” directly linking trade pressure to the Russia–Ukraine conflict. He has argued that India’s purchases of discounted Russian crude fuel Moscow's war machine in Ukraine.

India, however, has maintained a firm stance, rejecting Trump’s earlier claim that PM Modi had assured him New Delhi would stop buying Russian oil, clarifying that no such conversation took place. As Washington moves closer to advancing the sanctions bill, the proposed legislation could raise fresh uncertainty for India.

At the same time, Trump has positioned himself as a potential broker in the Russia–Ukraine war, holding talks with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, though without any concrete breakthrough so far.