India warned the US on Thursday, 17 September, that sweeping new sanctions legislation targeting major buyers of Russian oil could damage bilateral relations and unsettle global energy markets, opening another point of friction between New Delhi and Washington over India’s energy ties with Moscow.

The warning came after the US House of Representatives approved the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by 262 votes to 159 on Wednesday, sending the legislation to President Donald Trump after the Senate passed it last month. The White House has backed the measure.

The legislation gives Trump authority to impose tariffs of as much as 100% on goods from countries that rank among the largest buyers of Russian oil or natural gas or play a major role in helping Russia evade energy sanctions.

It does not automatically impose a 100% tariff on India. The legislation targets the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas and the five leading countries facilitating Russian energy sanctions evasion, while giving the president discretion over how the measures are applied.

That nevertheless leaves India heavily exposed because Russia remains its biggest crude supplier.

“The Government of India has noted the passage of the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in the US Congress. We are monitoring further developments on this matter,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement posted on X by its official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

Our statement on passage of the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in the US Congress

🔗 https://t.co/kD0Yg9sWbU pic.twitter.com/rSc21AqwEh

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) September 17, 2026

“As stated on several earlier occasions, India remains firmly committed to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people. It will continue to do so through diversified sourcing and on the basis of evolving market dynamics.”

New Delhi made clear that its concern extends beyond the cost of replacing Russian crude.

“This issue has been discussed at high levels in recent months with various US interlocutors,” the ministry said. “Its potential implications for not just the bilateral relationship but also the international energy market have been very clearly articulated by the Indian side.”

India had also told Washington that it was prepared to “take all necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests,” the ministry said, adding that the government would work with Indian industry groups on the consequences of the US legislation.

The language marks a notable escalation in New Delhi’s public response. India has repeatedly defended its energy purchases as necessary to secure adequate supplies at affordable prices, but the latest statement directly links US action against Russian oil buyers to the broader bilateral relationship.

Why India is exposed

Russian crude has become a major part of India’s refinery system since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 prompted Western governments to restrict Russian energy trade.

India’s Russian crude imports reached about 2.08 million barrels a day in August, down 26% from July but still accounting for roughly 45% of India’s crude imports, according to tanker-tracking data from Kpler cited by the Financial Express. Russia remained the country’s biggest supplier.

Preliminary Kpler data showed imports falling further in the first half of September to about 1.42 million barrels a day, partly because of tighter Russian supply.

India has consistently argued that crude procurement is driven by commercial and energy-security considerations.

In a parliamentary response this year, the government said crude purchases were undertaken by Indian refiners on a “purely commercial, B2B basis” and that individual companies decided how much to purchase from each country based on “techno-commercial considerations.”

The new US law could alter that calculation by putting India’s access to the American market into the equation.

A proposed House amendment would have explicitly named India, China, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Slovakia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan as countries eligible for tariffs of up to 100%. The amendment was rejected in committee, leaving the final legislation based instead on rankings of the biggest Russian energy buyers and sanctions evaders.

Washington targets Russian revenue

Supporters of the legislation say its purpose is to reduce the revenue Moscow earns from energy exports and increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said after the House vote that the legislation “strikes at the heart of the Kremlin’s ability to fund its brutal war against Ukraine.”

“Every dollar Russia earns through illicit energy sales is another dollar Putin can use to buy drones, missiles and weapons to kill innocent Ukrainians,” she said.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, one of the legislation’s leading sponsors, was more direct about its intended effect on the biggest buyers.

“China and India, you better buy your oil and gas somewhere else,” Blumenthal told reporters after the House approved the bill.

His office said the tariffs were designed to target countries buying “the vast majority” of Russian oil and gas, rather than imposing penalties broadly on every country importing Russian energy.

Ukraine also pressed Congress to approve the legislation.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X before the House vote that wartime decisions did not always have to be perfect to be necessary.

It is symbolic that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act on the night of yet another Russian attack on Ukraine with ballistic and other missiles and drones. Once again, civilian infrastructure was targeted, with damage… pic.twitter.com/xFz458d4AN

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 17, 2026

“The bill must be passed, voted on, and supported,” he said. “Beyond that, strong decisions from the U.S. Administration are important. Personal decisions by President Trump. I very much hope we will see that.”

An old dispute returns

The measure revives a dispute that appeared to have eased earlier this year.

Trump imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods in August 2025 after determining that India was directly or indirectly importing Russian oil.

He removed that additional duty in February 2026. The White House said at the time that the decision followed what it described as India’s commitment to stop purchasing Russian oil. The administration also lowered a separate US reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18% as part of a trade framework announced with New Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed that agreement at the time, writing on X that the framework reflected the “growing depth, trust and dynamism” of the relationship and would strengthen investment and supply chains between the countries.

Russian crude subsequently remained a substantial part of India’s imports.

The latest legislation therefore gives Trump a new statutory tool to revive tariff pressure if the administration decides India’s purchases meet the law’s criteria.

Oil markets add another complication

India’s warning about energy markets comes as crude supplies are already under strain.

The country imports most of the oil it consumes and is particularly vulnerable to sharp rises in international crude prices. At the same time, disruptions in the Middle East have increased competition for supplies, making the removal of large volumes of Russian oil from the market potentially more disruptive than it would be under normal conditions.

That is one reason New Delhi has repeatedly argued that Russian barrels have helped keep the global market adequately supplied rather than merely benefiting Indian refiners.

The legislation’s supporters take a different view, arguing that Russian energy sales provide revenue that allows Moscow to sustain its war.

The question now is how aggressively Trump uses the authority Congress has handed him.

The measure contains mechanisms allowing the administration flexibility in applying sanctions and tariffs, meaning passage of the bill does not by itself determine what duties Indian exporters will face.

But even without immediate implementation, the threat creates another source of uncertainty for Indian companies selling into the US and for refiners deciding where to secure future crude supplies.

It also comes while New Delhi and Washington are trying to build on the trade framework they announced in February.

India’s opposition Congress seized on the renewed tension on Thursday. Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh wrote on X: “Appeasement has never paid and will never pay.”

Appeasement has never paid and will never pay. https://t.co/lSclZozQV2

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 17, 2026