TheUnited States is planning to put very high taxes on countries that keep doing business with Russia, even after Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago. US Senator Lindsey Graham said that  President Donald Trump supports a new bill that would add a huge 500% tax (tariff) on goods coming from countries that still trade with Russia. This includes countries like India and China.

Graham, who is pushing for these new sanctions, said in an interview on ABC News that Trump wants this bill to be voted on after the "July break." The bill already has support from 84 other lawmakers. The aim is to force countries like India and China to stop buying Russian oil and goods, which helps Russia continue its war in Ukraine.

Graham explained that the bill would allow the US president to put heavy taxes on goods from countries that support Russia’s economy. He believes this will push Russian President Vladimir Putin to start peace talks about Ukraine. However, Graham also said that Trump would have the final say on whether to use this power if the bill becomes law.

Graham said Trump told him to move forward with the bill, and that it would give Trump a new "tool" to deal with Russia when he returns as president.

When will the bill be proposed?

The bill was first proposed in March and now is expected to be presented in August. This is part of the US plan to put more economic pressure on Russia as Trump tries to force President Putin to start peace talks while the war in Ukraine continues.

The bill’s presentation was delayed because the White House did not want to add more sanctions at first. Trump was also trying to improve relations with Russia at that time. But now, it looks like the administration is ready to support these sanctions.

How could it affect India?

After Western countries put sanctions on Russia, India and China kept buying cheap Russian oil. Because of this, they are targeted in the new US bill. India is the world’s third-biggest oil importer. It imports about 5.1 million barrels of crude oil, which it turns into petrol and diesel.

Before the Ukraine war, India mainly bought oil from the Middle East. But after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, India started buying a lot more oil from Russia because it was much cheaper.

As a result, Russia’s share in India’s oil imports jumped from less than 1% to 40–44% very quickly. In June, India bought more oil from Russia than from Saudi Arabia and Iraq combined, partly due to global market issues caused by Israel’s attack on Iran.

In June, India planned to buy 2–2.2 million barrels per day of Russian oil — the most in two years. In May, it bought 1.96 million barrels per day. If the US passes this new bill, it could impose very high (500%) taxes on goods coming to America from India. But at the same time, India and the US are working on a trade deal, which could lower other US tariffs on Indian goods.

Trump’s hesitation

Reports say that earlier, the White House asked Senator Graham to make the bill less strict. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump’s team wanted to change the wording of the bill to make the punishments optional instead of mandatory.

After this, Graham added an exception in the bill for countries that support Ukraine. This was to avoid possible trade fights between the US and Europe if the bill becomes law.

What did Russia say?

When asked about Graham’s comments, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia knows Graham’s views well and that he is known for being very anti-Russia. Peskov added that if Graham had his way, these sanctions would have already been imposed. He questioned whether such sanctions would really help end the Ukraine war and said that people proposing these ideas should think about that.