The US Senate has passed a bill to increase economic pressure on Russia, which may impact many countries including India. The Senate has approved a new sanctions bill on Russia. 86 votes were cast in favor of this bill and 12 against it. If America makes this law, then it will be almost certain that 100 percent tariff will be imposed on countries like India, China, Slovakia, Azerbaijan and Hungary. However, the final decision will be in the hands of the American government.

Donald Trump’s government has brought this bill to increase economic pressure on Moscow amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump wants to target those countries that buy large quantities of oil and gas from Russia. They want that no one should buy oil and gas from Russia.

Why is it a matter of tension for India?

This bill becomes more important for India because it has increased the import of crude oil from Russia in the last months. Due to the ongoing war between America and Iran, there is a lot of difficulty in bringing oil and gas from Gulf countries. There is constant tension in the Strait of Hormuz. For this reason India has turned towards Russia.

According to the report of ‘Hindustan Times’, US MP Richard Blumenthal had earlier said that some relief can be given to the countries whose Russian gas purchase will be less than 15 percent of Russia’s total gas exports. However, this proposal is yet to be finalized.

Trump had imposed total 50 percent tariff on India

America has repeatedly threatened India with imposing tariffs on buying oil from Russia. There was a situation of tension between the two countries. US President Trump had imposed 25 percent additional tariff on India in August 2025. Because of this, the total tariff on India was 50 percent. Business was greatly affected by this decision of Trump. However, after this, due to the war, exemption was given on the purchase of Russian oil.

India’s crude oil import from Russia increased by 34 percent to a record level in June 2026. India is currently the second largest country to buy the most crude oil from Russia after China. If America implements the new bill, it will affect the trade of both the countries.

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