US House moves Russia oil bill that could hit India with 100% tariffs

India could face additional US tariffs over its purchases of Russian energy if legislation moving through the House of Representatives becomes law and India falls within the countries covered by its secondary tariff provisions.

The House voted 214-211 on Tuesday, 15 September, to adopt H. Res. 1530, a procedural measure covering several bills and allowing lawmakers to consider a motion to concur in the Senate amendments to H.R. 5334, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.

The vote did not pass the sanctions legislation itself and did not impose any tariff on India.

The Senate passed H.R. 5334 as amended on 7 August by 86 votes to 11. The House must still agree to the Senate amendments before the measure can be sent to President Donald Trump.

Section 113 of the Senate-passed text would require the president, within 30 days of enactment, to raise duties on all US imports from countries meeting specified criteria related to Russian crude oil, natural gas or oil-sanctions evasion.

The additional duty could be set at as much as 100% of the value of the imported goods.

The tariff would come on top of other duties already applicable to the goods. The legislation requires the administration to provide Congress with its rationale for both the tariff rate and its determination that a country falls within the scope of the law.

For Russian energy purchases, the initial test covers a country that knowingly makes new purchases of Russian crude oil or natural gas beginning 30 days after enactment and was among the five largest importers by volume during the 12 months preceding enactment. The bill separately covers countries determined to have been among the five leading facilitators of Russian oil-sanctions evasion over that period.

After the initial tariffs are imposed, the US Trade Representative would reassess the largest importers every 180 days using the most recent 12 months of data. The legislation calls for separate determinations of the five largest buyers of Russian crude and the five largest buyers of Russian natural gas.

The Senate-passed legislation does not identify India or any other country by name.

Representatives Steny Hoyer and Marcy Kaptur proposed an amendment that would have explicitly listed India, China, Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Slovakia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan as initially eligible for tariffs of as much as 100%.

The House Rules Committee voted 3-7 against a motion to make that amendment eligible for consideration. The rule adopted by the House instead permits a single motion to concur in the Senate amendments, leaving the Senate language intact for the coming vote.

That leaves India’s potential exposure dependent on the statutory test rather than on the country being singled out by Congress.

India has been among the biggest purchasers of Russian crude since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Continued purchases after the legislation takes effect could therefore become relevant if India is among the five largest importers under the period and methodology specified in the law.

The bill gives the administration latitude over the size of the additional tariff. After tariffs are imposed, the US Trade Representative may adjust the rate between above zero and 100% after determining that a covered country has significantly increased or reduced its purchases of Russian crude or natural gas.

The legislation goes well beyond secondary tariffs. It would impose or expand sanctions on Russian officials, financial institutions and other entities, restrict US investment and certain transactions involving Russia, and extend the Iran Sanctions Act. The Senate formally passed the package as the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.