Donald Trump supports new Senate legislation to impose steep tariffs on countries importing Russian energy. This move aims to pressure major buyers like India and China amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
The US effort to choke off Russia’s wartime revenue widened on Sunday, as President Donald Trump said he would support new Senate legislation empowering Washington to slap tariffs of up to 500 per cent on countries still doing business with Moscow.”The Republicans are putting in legislation that is very tough sanctioning, etcetera, on any country doing business with Russia,” Trump told reporters before departing Florida for the White House. The plan, long championed by Senator Lindsey Graham, has gathered momentum amid growing frustration in Congress over Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in October he was prepared to bring the measure to a vote but did not “want to commit to a hard deadline”.
US TARIFFS ON INDIAThe United States has already taken action against India over its Russian oil purchases. In August 2025, Trump signed an executive order adding a 25 per cent “Russian oil” surcharge on top of an existing 25 per cent reciprocal tariff on Indian exports, effectively doubling duties to 50 per cent. Washington said the measure was designed to penalise countries that “indirectly fund Russia’s war machine”.India has since signalled a reduction in its intake of Russian crude. In October, Trump said he believed New Delhi had “significantly reduced” its purchases and suggested the United States could ease the tariffs. “We’ll bring the tariffs down at some point,” he said.
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