US President Donald Trump has signed into law a Senate bill that would impose 500% tariffs on countries such as China and India for buying Russian oil and energy products.
Speaking to ABC News Sunday, US Senator Lindsey Graham said that Trump urged him to bring the sanctions bill to a vote. Graham, the leader of this effort for tough new sanctions on Russia, characterized Trump’s support as ‘a big breakthrough’.
Graham told ABC News, “Big breakthrough here. So what does this bill do? If you’re buying products from Russia and you’re not helping Ukraine, then there’s a 500% tariff on your products coming into the United States. India and China buy 70% of Putin’s oil. They keep his war machine going.”
He. said the bill is aimed at putting pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate for Ukraine and would also provide Trump with ‘a tool’ by which to do so. Still, Graham said Trump would have the choice whether to sign it into law or not if Congress passes it, saying, “I’ve got 84 co-sponsors on a Russian sanctions bill that is an economic bunker buster against China, India, and Russia for Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. I think that bill’s going to pass.”
Recent statistics show India playing a leading role in the purchase of Russian fossil fuels. India ranked the second biggest importer of Russian fossil fuels in May 2025, with an estimated import value of €4.2 billion, 72% of which was crude oil.
In the meantime, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reacted on Monday to comments made by Graham, that Russia is well aware of the senator’s attitude. “The views of the senator are widely known to us, widely known to the entire world. He is part of a coterie of inveterate Russophobes. If he had his way, these sanctions would have been imposed long ago,” Peskov explained.
He also asked if the brutal move would even benefit the peace process, saying, “Would that have helped the (Ukraine) settlement (process)? That is a question that those who initiate such events should ask themselves.”
