Trump Approves Bill Threatening 500% Tariffs on Russian Goods; Will It Impact India?

US President Donald Trump has approved the new bill called the ‘Sanctioning of Russia Act 2025’, which aims to sharply increase pressure on Russia over the Ukraine war. The proposed law would allow the US to impose tariffs of at least 500% on all Russian goods imported into the country.

The development was announced by US Senator Lindsey Graham, who said that the US President had given the green light to the sanctions bill he has been working on for months.

“Trump greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator Blumenthal and many others,” Graham said.

According to Graham, the bill could come up for a bipartisan vote in the US Congress as early as next week, although it is not yet clear how strong the support will be. If passed, the law would also give President Trump the power to impose up to 500% tariffs on countries that knowingly buy Russian oil or uranium, which the bill says helps fund Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war efforts.

This provision could have implications for countries such as India, China and Brazil, which continue to import Russian oil, Graham said. The bill would effectively give the US President leverage to pressure these nations into reducing or stopping such purchases.

Graham further stated that the timing of the bill was deliberate. “This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent,” he said.

Earlier, President Trump had claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unhappy with the US decision to impose 50% tariffs on Indian goods, a move linked to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil.

“I have a very good relationship with PM Modi, but he is not happy with me as India is paying high tariffs,” Trump had said.