Trump signs Russia sanctions bill, tariff threat looms over India, China: Could Africa become Putin’s next energy grid? | Today’s news
With US President Donald Trump signing sanctions legislation against Lindsey Graham that allows him to impose steep tariffs of up to 100% on India and China, the biggest buyers of Russian oil, Vladimir Putin may have to focus on Africa to continue to maintain its wider networks.
The Lindsey O. Graham Russia and Iran Sanctions Act of 2026 was signed into law by Trump on September 18 after it was approved by the US Congress.
Under the provisions of the law, the US president can impose up to 100% sanctions on countries buying oil from Russia.
The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has urged the central government to hold talks with Washington to protect Indian exporters, ANI reported.
“Any additional duties under this bill will be very difficult to absorb for India’s MSME-dominated textile and apparel sector, which is already under pressure due to several factors, including the ongoing turbulence in West Asia. It will seriously affect our ability to sell in the United States, our most important market by far,” CITI chairman Ashwin Chandran said, according to ANI.
Can Russia depend on the African network?
As Western countries cut Russian oil imports after starting a war with Ukraine in 2022, Moscow
he turned to his partners in Asia. With the latest threat of sanctions looming over both Beijing and Delhi, Moscow will try to explore its options in Africa to maintain its wider network.
Russia has political, military and logistical ties across Africa, although no African country is a major buyer of Russian oil.
The sanctioned Progress tanker was spotted in January running into some trouble carrying about 730,000 barrels of Urals oil from Russia as it moved towards the Suez Canal.
Another LNG carrier from Russia, Arctic Metagaz, entered Libya’s search and rescue zone after suffering damage in the Mediterranean.
Egypt is the African country with the most direct involvement in Russia’s energy trade, Business Insider Africa has revealed. The country became the fifth largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in August, buying goods worth 513 million euros, according to CREA.
Moscow is also deepening its military logistics network, which now links Mali, Burkina Faso and also Niger.
According to an investigation by the US-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4DS), 75 flights were identified that between January 2025 and July 2026 supplied military operations with Russia in countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.
