Having seen the US Supreme Court strike down his earlier tariff regime, the administration is preparing to restore that power of pursuing a protectionist agenda though many in the US have pointed out that it is the American businesses and, ultimately, the consumer who pays the tariff. It may take time for the bill to pass in the House of Representatives but, given the bipartisan support in the Senate, it is likely that the Act will be in force by September
The US move to pass a bipartisan bill that would allow President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on the five biggest importers of Russian energy brings further disquiet to the India-US relationship that has suffered from unprecedented chill after decades marked by a degree of amity. What the bill will do is to arm the President who has shown preference for using tariffs over sanctions as an economic weapon against America’s foes and friends alike.
Having seen the US Supreme Court strike down his earlier tariff regime, the administration is preparing to restore that power of pursuing a protectionist agenda though many in the US have pointed out that it is the American businesses and, ultimately, the consumer who pays the tariff. It may take time for the bill to pass in the House of Representatives but, given the bipartisan support in the Senate, it is likely that the Act will be in force by September.
As a buyer of Russian and Iranian oil, India and China will be the worst affected if Mr Trump goes through with his threat to use the additional tariffs to hit Asia’s two biggest economies. True, Mr Trump may alternatively use threats and actual tariffs, as he did with a 100 per cent sanction on India for buying Russian oil only to withdraw it later because it proved ineffective, to demonstrate flexibility in negotiations.
What effect Mr Trump’s oft-repeated claims of being the mediator who ended India-Pakistan hostilities in May 2025 and his tariff tantrums have had on the overhyped India-US trade deal, which is still on the anvil, makes clear how India’s relationship with the US has gone south in his second term in office. His occasional charm offensive on Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have done little to assuage the hurt to ties and if the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 becomes law and is used against India, any vestige of hope that it will be business as usual with the US would be stamped out.
India’s diversification policy after oil from the Gulf was clouded by the Iran war proved successful enough to withstand the energy crisis far better than many nations that lie further east. But it will still be tested if its reliance on Russian oil is clipped as it has been serving a substantial portion of crude imports. The proposed law and its use could be the last straw.
