The United States is preparing to take stronger action against countries that continue trading with Russia during the ongoing war in Ukraine. On Sunday, President Donald Trump said he supports a new bill in the Senate that would allow the US to impose very high tariffs up to 500% on nations that still buy Russian oil, gas, or other goods.

Trump told reporters that Republicans are working on tough new legislation targeting any country doing business with Russia. This proposal has been pushed for a long time by Senator Lindsey Graham and is now gaining support in Congress. 

Many US lawmakers are frustrated because Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine, especially in the eastern region. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said last month that he was ready to bring the bill to a vote but did not want to announce a specific date.

What the bill says

According to Bloomberg, the proposed law would give President Trump the power to increase tariffs drastically on imports from countries that buy Russian energy and are not doing enough to support Ukraine. This mainly targets large buyers of Russian oil and gas, including China and India. Trump also said Iran might be added to this list, though he did not explain how.

The bill comes at a time when Russia is intensifying its military operations in Ukraine, especially around the key railway town of Pokrovsk. Ukraine is also increasing long-distance strikes on Russian oil facilities.

Many Democrats and some Republicans have been pushing for stronger action against Russia for months. They accuse the Kremlin of continuing the war and refusing peace talks. Trump had earlier avoided supporting heavy sanctions because he was trying to bring both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the negotiating table. His meeting with Putin in Alaska earlier this year did not lead to any progress.

US tariffs on India

The US has already taken action against India for buying Russian oil. In August 2025, Trump signed an order adding a 25% “Russian oil surcharge” on top of an existing 25% tariff on Indian exports. This doubled the duties to 50%. The US said the move was meant to punish countries that indirectly support Russia’s war by buying its oil.

Since then, India has reduced its oil purchases from Russia. In October, Trump said he believed India had “significantly reduced” its intake and hinted the US might lower tariffs in the future.

Despite many sanctions from the US and Europe, Russia is still able to continue large-scale military actions. Western intelligence says this is partly because Russia has strong energy trade ties with Asian countries, which helps it keep earning money. The US hopes that stronger tariffs will pressure countries to stop supporting Russia economically and help weaken its ability to wage war.