"Fueling Putin's war machine": US Senators say penalise India, China, Brazil with 500% tarriff to deter trade with Russia
Trump
call for imposing 100 per cent "secondary tariffs" on Moscow if Russian President Vladimir Putin fails to end the conflict in Ukraine within 50 days, Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal have warned countries, including India, of economic sanctions if they continue business with Russia.
South Carolina Republican Senator Graham and Democratic Senator Bluementhal are leading 85 cosponsors on a bipartisan bill they introduced in Congress earlier this year calling for implementing sanctions on Moscow, which they say could be a "sledgehammer" President Trump needs to end the conflict.
"We'll continue to push for Senator Graham & my Russia Sanctions bill with even tougher penalties to deter India, China, Brazil & others from fueling
Putin's war machine
. Congressional action sends a powerful message of support," Richard Bluementhal said in a post on his social media handle X.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
21st Century Skills Start with Confident Communication
Planet Spark
Learn More
Undo
As per a joint statement by Graham and Blumenthal, China, India, and Brazil and other nations "that prop up Putin's war machine" by purchasing "cheap Russian oil and gas", which that claim is fuelling Putin's effort in the conflict with Russia. It called for the imposition of tariffs as high as 500 per cent on any country that helps Russia.
Trump announced "secondary tariffs" on Russia during his meeting with NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte on Monday (US local time).
Live Events
Democratic Senator Blumenthal, in a post, lauded the US President's decision, calling it a "breakthrough step" while slamming Putin by calling him a "thug".
He further called for pushing the bill, "Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025", introduced by him and Senator Graham on April 1, noting that the bill will impose "tougher penalties to deter India, China, Brazil" and other countries that are still in business with Moscow.
"The President's announcement is a breakthrough step--committing to both substantial military aid & strong sanctions. It recognizes the urgency of showing sledgehammer strength--because peace through strength is the only viable strategy with a thug like Putin," Blumenthal post on X read
A joint statement by Graham and Blumenthal noted that Trump's announcement was a strong executive measure to push all parties toward negotiations with the true aim to compel Putin to engage in peace talks.
"The ultimate hammer to bring about the end of this war will be tariffs against countries, like China, India and Brazil, that prop up Putin's war machine by purchasing cheap Russian oil and gas. President Trump's decision to announce the implementation of 100 percent secondary tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and gas if a peace agreement is not reached in the next 50 days is a real executive hammer to drive the parties to the negotiating table. The goal is not more tariffs and sanctions - the goal is to entice Putin to come to the peace table," the statement read.
"Finally, as President Trump indicated, we will join our colleagues in continuing to work with the White House on our bipartisan Russia sanctions legislation that would implement up to 500 percent tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and gas and do not help Ukraine," it said.
Trump, during his meeting with the NATO chief, stated that he was "very unhappy" with Russia and announced the imposition of the 100 per cent tariffs on Russia if a peace deal wasn't made within 50 days.
"One of the reasons that you're here today is to hear that we are very unhappy - I am - with Russia. But we will discuss that maybe another day. But we're very, very unhappy with them, and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days. Tariffs at about 100 percent. You'd call them secondary tariffs. But today, we're going to talk about something else," Trump had said.
Earlier this month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that the Indian embassy and ambassador have been in touch with Senator Graham regarding the bill on Russia and that "India will have to cross that bridge if it comes to it."
Addressing a press conference, Jaishankar had stated that India's concerns and interests on energy and security have been made conversant to Graham.
When asked about US plans to impose a 500 per cent tariff on the import of Russian oil, Jaishankar said, "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. So we have been in touch with Senator Lindsey Graham. The embassy, ambassador have been in touch. Our concerns and our interests on energy, security have been made conversant to him. So we'll then have to cross that bridge when we come to it. If we come to it."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
a minute ago
- Time of India
Fuel folly
Times of India's Edit Page team comprises senior journalists with wide-ranging interests who debate and opine on the news and issues of the day. Washington's new tariff plan for those who buy Russian oil is hypocritical & will hurt US too After insulting Zelenskyy in Feb, pausing intelligence sharing with Kyiv in March, and weapons supplies in March and May, Trump finally has a plan to stop Putin. He's going to hit Russia and its trade partners with 'very serious tariffs'. Not immediately – Putin gets 50 days to finish the business he started in 2022. But as a big buyer of Russian oil, India should take note. Trump's threatened to impose 100% tariff on countries that buy Russian goods after the expiry of his deadline, and if he doesn't waver, or forget – neither unlikely – the concessions won through a trade deal could be lost. Will tariffs work? Not directly, because Russia and US have never been more decoupled economically since the collapse of the Soviet Union. US bought goods worth just $3bn from Russia last year, and sold $500mn worth, down from $29bn and $6bn, respectively, before the start of the war in 2022. That's why Putin must be checkmated through secondary tariffs on his major oil buyers like China, India and Brazil. Fossil fuels are a very big part of Russia's GDP (16%), and make up over half of its exports (55%). By the third anniversary of the war, Russia had earned about $1tn from fossil fuel exports. India, which used to buy just 1% of its oil from Russia before the war, now sources 40%, so the threat of 100% tariff on exports could make it pivot again. And China, which buys 20% of its oil from Russia, might also find 100% tariff discouraging. Russia could be hurt, but at what cost? Plugging the Russian pipeline is bound to drive up oil prices, which could increase inflation in most places, including US. Add to that the US-specific price rise resulting from 100% tariff on China, India and other US trade partners, and the political risk might be too much for Trump's Republicans. Above all, Trump's threat – backed by Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte – smacks of hypocrisy. After ordering the world not to buy Russian oil, US continued buying enriched uranium from Russia for its nuclear plants. Even when it announced a ban on Russian uranium imports from 2027, it gave a waiver to its largest operator of reactors. Likewise, Rutte's Europe is still buying gas from Russia, and won't stop till the end of 2027. So, Trump and Rutte's threat is less about conviction than convenience. India must play by the same rule. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
Time of India
a minute ago
- Time of India
Trump's oil tariff plan: Big talk, big problems
US President Donald Trump has come up with a plan to punish Russia for its war with Ukraine — by making things super expensive for countries that buy oil or goods from Russia. This includes countries like India, China, and Brazil. Trump says he'll put a 100% tariff (which means doubling the price) on things those countries sell to the US if they keep buying from Russia. But he's giving them 50 days before the rule starts — which gives Russia time to keep doing what it's doing. Why does this matter? Because countries like India now buy a lot of oil from Russia — about 40% of their oil. Before the war, it was just 1%! China gets 20% of its oil from Russia. If Trump really adds this tax, both countries might have to change their oil suppliers. The idea behind Trump's plan is to hurt Russia's economy by hitting its biggest moneymaker — oil and gas. Russia earns more than half of its export money from selling fuel. In fact, since the war started, Russia has made almost $1 trillion from selling fossil fuels. But here's the problem: if countries stop buying Russian oil, oil prices might shoot up. That could make life more expensive for everyone — including people in the US. Also, if the US charges more on products from India or China, things like clothes, electronics, and toys might cost more in American stores. And here's where the plan feels unfair: the US is still buying nuclear fuel (called uranium) from Russia! Even when it said it would stop, it gave itself extra time and allowed some companies to keep buying it. And Europe is still buying Russian gas until 2027. So while Trump and other leaders are telling countries like India to stop buying from Russia, they're not stopping completely themselves. That's why this whole thing looks more like politics than true action. India should watch carefully and do what's best for itself — just like everyone else is doing. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Economic Times
a minute ago
- Economic Times
Flex fuel and electric to sit at the same table in CAFÉ 3: Nitin Gadkari
The Centre is working on balancing regulations under the third edition of the Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFÉ 3) norms to encourage customer adoption of flex fuel and electric vehicles, minister for road, transport & highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari will help rein in crude imports and vehicular CAFÉ norms have so far been skewed in favour of electric vehicles, the upcoming regulations will take into account the contribution of flex fuel and battery technologies in its new avatar. Flex fuel refers to blends, such as ethanol and petrol. 'The old CAFÉ norms were electric centric,' Gadkari said at an ET Roundtable on Thursday. 'The new CAFÉ 3 norms will balance both electric and flexi fuel engines.' A high-level meeting of top officials from the ministry of road transport and highways and ministry of power as well as the principal scientific adviser was held on Wednesday to firm up the norms. The minister had called for consultations with industry stakeholders earlier this month on the 3 regulatory norms are set to come into effect from April 2027. A car's CO2 emissions are directly proportional to the amount of fuel it consumes. This means that some models can have higher emissions if the manufacturer has fuel-efficient vehicles in its 3 regulations set fuel efficiency standards for car manufacturers with the aim of lowering fuel consumption and emissions. These norms apply to a manufacturer's entire model range, not individual the industry is divided over the proposal on differential treatment to big and small cars under CAFÉ 3 norms, Gadkari said a final decision will align with the country's needs.'Despite different lobbies working on it, we have to work in the interest of the country, keeping in mind pollution, cost, import and benefits for agriculture,' he cars don't have a separate standard under the existing CAFÉ 2 norms that are in force through March to the existing rules, the average emissions of all passenger vehicles weighing less than 3,500 kg — including CNG, hybrids and electric vehicles — sold by each manufacturer should not be more than 113 grams of CO2 per in the local market currently run on petrol with a blend of 20% ethanol. While ethanol-blended fuel helps in reducing crude oil consumption, the lower calorific value of ethanol increases fuel consumption and therefore emissions, according to to Gadkari, trials are being held in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas on Russian technology that can raise the calorific value of ethanol to match that of petrol. This will eventually make 100% ethanol viable in the country, he said. Responding to a query on tightening emission norms, Gadkari said there had been much resistance when India decided to jump from BS-IV to BS-VI in 2020. 'India's emission norms are comparable to the world. Now there is talk of Euro VII. We are preparing for it,' he said. Commenting on the ban on end-of-life vehicles in the National Capital Region, Gadkari said, 'This should be addressed by taking a studied legal position on the issue,' but added that converting a petrol or diesel vehicle into CNG makes economic also said the Delhi government has the authority to make laws on the petrol-diesel vehicle ban, and take measures to address concerns regarding the legality of the move while keeping public health in vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 aren't allowed in the national capital region (NCR), according to the National Green Tribunal order upheld by the Supreme Court.
