"We'll Cross The Bridge When We Get There": S Jaishankar On 500% Tariff Threat Over Russian Oil

India is engaging with American lawmakers over concerns surrounding a new Russia sanctions bill introduced in the US Congress, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday. The bill, backed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, seeks to impose 500 per cent tariffs on countries-- including India and China-- that continue to trade with Moscow even after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago. When asked about potential implications of the bill, Mr Jaishankar said, India will "cross that bridge when we come to it." 

"Regarding Senator Lindsey Graham's bill, any development which is happening in the US Congress is of interest to us if it impacts our interest or could impact our interest," the Minister said in a press conference in Washington.

"Our concerns and our interests on energy, security have been made conversant to him (Lindsey Graham). So we'll then have to cross that bridge when we come to it. If we come to it," he added.

#WATCH | Washington, DC | On a question by ANI regarding US plans to impose 500% Tariffs on import of the Russian Oil, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, "Regarding Senator Lindsey Graham's bill, any development which is happening in the US Congress is of interest to us if it impacts our… pic.twitter.com/CvhbT6zMmH

— ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2025

About The Sanctions Bill

Mr Graham, who is sponsoring a tough new sanctions bill on Russia, said the legislation aims to pressure countries like India and China into buying Russian oil and other goods to weaken Moscow's war economy and push Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table on Ukraine and give Trump "a tool" to bring that about.

"Big breakthrough here. So what does this bill do? If you're buying products from Russia and you're not helping Ukraine, then there's a 500 per cent tariff on your products coming into the United States. India and China buy 70 per cent of Putin's oil. They keep his war machine going. My bill has 84 co-sponsors. It would allow the president to put tariffs on China and India and other countries to get them -- stop them from supporting Putin's war machine, to get him to the table," the US senator told ABC.

He, however, noted that Trump had a waiver and could decide whether or not to sign it into law if and when it passes Congress.

How The Bill Can Affect India

Amid Western sanctions, countries like India and China have continued buying discounted Russian oil, making them targets of the proposed legislation. India, the world's third-largest oil-importing and consuming nation, traditionally sourced its oil from the Middle East. However, it began importing a large volume of oil from Russia soon after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This was primarily because Russian oil was available at a significant discount to other international benchmarks due to Western sanctions and some European countries shunning purchases.

This led to India's imports of Russian oil seeing a dramatic rise, growing from less than 1 per cent of its total crude oil imports to a staggering 40-44 per cent in a short period. In June, India ramped up purchases of Russian oil, with Indian refiners proposing to import 2-2.2 million barrels per day of Russian crude oil in June, the highest in the last two years. 

India's oil imports from Russia were 1.96 million barrels per day (bpd) in May.

If the US implements the proposed bill, it could lead to staggering 500 per cent tariffs on Indian products imported to America. However, India is in the process of signing a trade deal with the US, which would likely bring down US tariffs on India considerably.