Landmark trade deal with UK takes effect

On Tuesday, US senators unveiled a revised version of the Russia sanctions bill that would impose a 100% tariff on five countries, including India, for their purchase of Russian oil.

This version eases a previous threat of a 500% proposed tariff. 

The bill, backed by Republicans, Democrats and the White House, seeks to sanction Russian officials and pressure countries like India and China into reducing their dependence on Russian energy. 

If it is passed, the bill would impose tariffs on major purchasers of Russian oil. 

The top five Russian energy purchasers are India, China, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan.

India’s import of Russian oil has long been a point of contention with the US. 

In 2025, US President slapped an additional 25% tariff on India for buying Russian crude, causing significant strain on diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Washington. 

India has since diversifiedhas since diversified its oil Imports to Venezuela but also maintained that India’s policy on Russian oil is based on “cost and availability.”  

In June, Indian’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar rejected western nations’ criticism at an event in Helsinki. Jaishankar accused the United States of hypocrisy on Russian oil, saying that “the US specifically asked India to buy Russian oil to help stabilize the world markets.”

“After first imposing tariffs on us last year for buying Russian oil, the US then lifted its sanctions on Russian oil. Let’s not pretend there is some great principle involved here,” he said.

The proposed US bill comes at a time when India and the US have been negotiation the first tranche of a Bilateral Trade Agreement.

Experts and reports have said that one of the reasons for the deal’s delay is that New Delhi wants assurance of no new tariffs from Washington.