AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The bill, pushed by Senator Lindsey Graham, sailed through with a crushing 86–11 majority. Both Republicans and Democrats united to target countries like India. The legislation explicitly allows 100 percent tariffs on the five largest buyers of Russian energy — of which India ranks second. It also extends Iran sanctions until 2031, further tightening the noose around India’s energy security.
America’s double standards are glaring. China is the largest buyer of Russian oil, yet the Trump administration is giving it near-total exemption to avoid escalating trade tensions with Beijing. India, however, is being deliberately singled out. Last year Trump threatened 25 percent tariffs on India over Russian energy purchases, only to withdraw them in the name of a trade deal. In July he slapped an additional 10 percent tariff citing false “forced labour” allegations. This new bill is simply the next link in the same chain — keeping India under continuous economic siege.
America’s anti-India policy is nothing new. For decades the United States has worked against India. After the 1974 and 1998 nuclear tests it imposed economic sanctions, blocked technology transfers, and armed Pakistan to tilt the regional balance. Even during the Trump era India was made a target of tariff wars. Now, using Russian oil purchases as a pretext, America is once again attempting to inflict economic pain on India.
The bill also empowers the President to impose tariffs of up to 500 percent on Russian goods entering the United States. The White House has kept a provision for exemptions, but the real intent is clear — to teach a lesson to countries like India that pursue an independent foreign policy. Some Democratic senators and Republican Senator Rand Paul warned that Trump could use this bill as a legal weapon to impose sweeping new tariffs on India and China. Paul’s amendment was rejected, proving that the US Congress is united in targeting India.
India is the second-largest buyer of Russian crude. Indian refineries are meeting the country’s energy needs with cheaper Russian oil. America labels this “helping Putin” and lectures India on morality, while itself profiting from the war by selling weapons to Ukraine through European allies. Trump has largely stopped direct aid to Ukraine and switched to a weapons-sales policy — making money from the conflict. Yet when India buys affordable oil for its energy security, it is branded a villain.
The bill still needs to pass the House of Representatives, but its overwhelming passage in the Senate lays bare America’s anti-India mindset. For decades the United States has tried to keep India weak — through nuclear sanctions, by arming Pakistan, through tariff wars, and now under the pretext of Russian oil. India is being forced to pay the price for its strategic autonomy. America wants India to fall in line with its dictates or face economic punishment. This bill is simply the latest expression of that long-standing anti-India policy.
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