US lawmaker introduces amendment to name India and Russia Sanctions Act

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a photo ceremony during the BRICS Summit in New Delhi. File | Photo credit: Reuters

In a race against time, US lawmakers have tabled amendments to the Russia Sanctions Act, with one seeking to name its major trading partners – including India – in the legislation and another proposing to remove the tariff section entirely.

Also read | The US Senate passed the Russia Sanctions Bill, which calls for 100% tariffs on India and four others

The Lindsey O Graham Russia-Iran Sanctions Act, approved by the US Senate last month by an overwhelming 86-11 vote, seeks to impose sanctions not only on Russia’s leadership and energy sector, but also on a “shadow fleet” of vessels that will allow Moscow to evade sanctions on oil supplies.

The US believes that Russia’s oil trade is financing the war against Ukraine. The bill also seeks to empower President Donald Trump to impose 100 percent tariffs on Russia’s major oil trading partners, including China and India.

The bill passed by the US Senate on August 7 does not name Russia’s trading partners, but lists the top five oil and gas importers by volume.

The House of Representatives must approve the bill before sending it to the president for his signature. The House has four business days before it goes into early recess ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

The amendment, introduced by Democratic Congressman Steny Hoyer, seeks to name China, India, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic as countries eligible for 100% tariffs.

Interestingly, Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks, who is staunchly opposed to giving Mr. Trump more powers to impose tariffs, has introduced an amendment to repeal all of Section 113, which seeks to give the president the power to impose broad secondary tariffs on Russian trading partners.

The amendment proposed by Meeks has three co-sponsors.

Amendments to the Russia Sanctions Act were released by the House Rules Committee on Monday (September 14, 2026).

Another amendment proposed by Meeks seeks to allow the president to waive sanctions against a foreign person for a period of 90 days, with a provision to renew for another 90-day period if doing so is “vital to the national security of the United States.” Meeks also introduced an amendment to authorize $15 billion in direct loans to Ukraine to finance the purchase of defense items and services.

Published – 15 Sep 2026 06:45 IST