Washington, Nov 17: The Trump administration has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India — among the highest anywhere — including a 25 per cent levy on purchases of Russian energy. The pressure is set to increase further as key Republican lawmakers move ahead with tougher measures aimed at countries continuing trade with Moscow.
A bill introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham proposes a 500 per cent tariff on secondary purchases and reselling of Russian oil, a move that has received near-unanimous support in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Graham and Senator Richard Blumenthal have jointly introduced the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which seeks secondary tariffs and sanctions on countries “continuing to fund Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine”. The legislation already has 85 Senate cosponsors.
In a joint statement issued in July, Graham and Blumenthal said President Trump’s approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict required stronger economic pressure on nations that “prop up Putin’s war machine” by buying discounted Russian oil and gas. China, India and Brazil were named among the countries whose energy purchases help sustain Moscow’s revenues.
