WASHINGTON — United States President Donald Trump has signed into law sweeping sanctions legislation targeting Russia and Iran, granting the executive branch expanded statutory authority to levy tariffs of up to 100 per cent on nations that continue importing Russian oil and natural gas. Enacted on Friday, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 establishes a hardened legal framework aimed at curbing Moscow’s hydrocarbon revenues and penalising foreign buyers, placing key trading partners including India and China under heightened economic scrutiny.
The law does not automatically trigger punitive duties against Indian exports. Instead, it authorises the White House to penalise the top purchasers of Russian crude oil and natural gas, granting the president substantial discretion over which specific countries to designate, the applicable tariff percentages, and potential national-interest waivers. The legislation also introduces comprehensive secondary sanctions against Russian financial institutions, defence sector collaborators, and the maritime “shadow fleet” of tankers used to transport crude outside Western regulatory caps.
For New Delhi, the enactment arrives at a delicate phase in bilateral commercial ties. Indian diplomatic officials had raised concerns with Washington over recent months, warning that punitive measures directed at crude transactions could disrupt global energy stability and strain the wider India-US partnership. In response to the legislative development, the Indian government maintained that national energy procurement policies will remain guided by the domestic imperatives of securing affordable supplies for 1.4 billion citizens through diversified market sourcing.
Government authorities in New Delhi confirmed they will closely monitor the rollout of the sanctions regime over the coming weeks as the law approaches its effective enforcement window. Indian ministries plan to work alongside domestic trade and manufacturing bodies to mitigate any potential export fallout, balancing the strategic necessity of affordable crude inflows with the imperative of shielding international trade interests from unilateral tariff pressures.
