In a move that could have implications for India, four US Senators announced on Friday that they had reached an agreement with the Trump administration to push forward legislation to impose sanctions on countries purchasing Russian energy. Two Democrats and two Republicans — including close Trump ally Senator Lindsey Graham — made the announcement.
“We are proud to announce that we have reached an agreement with the Trump administration to move our updated Russia sanctions legislation forward. We are very pleased with this significant progress and expect to roll out the legislation very soon. As Russia intensifies its slaughter of civilians, it is imperative that the legislative and executive branches work together to create tools to exact a heavy price on those who buy Russian oil and natural gas, fuelling the Putin war machine,” the four Senators said in a statement. Graham was joined by his Republican colleague Senator Roger Wicker and Democratic Senators Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen.
The four have been key supporters of the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which proposes American tariffs on goods and services exports from countries that purchase Russian-origin oil, natural gas, uranium and petroleum products. The bill made a provision for a 500% US tariff on countries purchasing Russian energy, which Senator Blumenthal referred to as “bone-crushing”. However, the proposed bill also allows the President of the United States to issue a waiver of 180 days to a particular country in case “if the President determines that such a waiver is in the national security interests of the United States”. Reports in the US media indicated that the bill had subsequently undergone changes, including softening the tariff provisions. However, the exact details of the changed legislation are awaited.
The bill found significant support in the US Senate, with 84 senators acting as co-sponsors for the legislation. It received heightened attention after Donald Trump said he was considering the bill in an effort to push Russia to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war. However, despite Graham’s previous statements that Trump had agreed to support the legislation, the Sanctioning Russia Act has not been passed more than a year after it was first introduced.
India has been one of the explicit targets of the legislation.
“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,” Graham said in a 2025 X post.
So far, the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 has been read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. It will subsequently have to be passed by the Senate, the House of Representatives and then signed by Trump before it becomes law.
