India-Russia ties in spotlight as US Senator pushes for targeting business with Moscow
Graham was referring to the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which was introduced in America's Senate in April this year. The bill proposes steep American tariffs on goods and services exports from countries that purchase Russian-origin oil, natural gas, uranium, and petroleum products. It also pushes for expanded sanctions against Russian businesses, government institutions, and top policymakers.
India was the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in May 2025, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. It is estimated that India purchased fossil fuels worth 4.2 billion euros from Russia in May, with crude oil amounting to 72% of the total.
The proposed bill also allows the President of the United States to issue a one-time waiver of 180 days to a particular country in case 'the President determines that such a waiver is in the national security interests of the United States'.
The bill is intended to put economic pressure on Russia and force it to the negotiating table to end the Ukraine war. Graham, a close political ally of President Trump, has called on India to cut economic ties with Russia.
'To China and India: if you continue to prop up Putin's war machine, you'll have nobody to blame but yourself,' he wrote on X on June 13.
So far, the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 has been read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. It will subsequently have to be passed by the Senate, the House of Representatives, and signed by Trump before it becomes law.
During an interview on Sunday, Senator Graham, who is the main sponsor of the bill, pushed for the Sanctioning Russia Act to be passed quickly.
Prashant Vashisht, senior vice president at ICRA, an investment information and credit ratings agency, said trying to push Russian oil out of the market could cause a price shock. 'Exports from major suppliers like Iran and Venezuela have already been restricted by sanctions. If India and other countries are forced to stop buying Russian oil, then prices would rise,' said Vashisht.
'India does face a risk of disruption to energy supplies. For example, we have been seeing increasing tensions in West Asia involving countries like Iran. While the situation is still uncertain, disruption of energy exports from major oil producers in the region due to an escalation would be disruptive. If you add to this by taking Russian oil out of the market, then that would create a challenging situation for India.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
27 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
US Supreme Court lets Trump administration cut $783 million in medical research grants
A divided US Supreme Court let the Trump administration at least temporarily cut off millions of dollars in medical research grants that government officials say don't align with the president's policies. The administration told the Supreme Court the NIH was being forced to keep paying out $783 million, though the challengers questioned that figure.(AFP) The justices partially put on hold a federal trial judge's decision that the National Institutes of Health acted in an 'arbitrary and capricious' manner when it terminated thousands of grants as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion. The decision wasn't a total win for Trump. The justices kept in place a block on NIH guidance documents that bar funding for research connected to DEI, gender-identity, vaccine hesitancy, Covid or climate change. But the court indicated on a 5-4 vote that US District Judge William Young in Boston lacked jurisdiction to order reinstatement of specific grants. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's three liberals in dissent on that issue. The challengers, which include research organizations and states whose universities rely on NIH funding, said the cutoff would set back crucial research by years, if not decades. 'A stay would abruptly, and in many cases permanently, halt lifesaving biomedical research that Congress has directed the NIH to fund, with irreparable consequences for scientific progress,' the groups, led by the American Public Health Organization, argued in court papers. The administration told the Supreme Court the NIH was being forced to keep paying out $783 million, though the challengers questioned that figure. 'The government is irreparably harmed when forced to pay out millions of dollars on discretionary grants, with no guarantee of recouping the money,' US Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in court papers. Sauer is the administration's top Supreme Court lawyer. The case is National Institutes of Health v. American Public Health Association, 25A103.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
China stands by India, firmly opposes 50% US tariff & threat to hike it: Envoy
Xu said in the face of such acts, silence or compromise only emboldens the bully. NEW DELHI: With PM Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping set to carry forward the Sino-Indian rapprochement in their upcoming meeting in Tianjin, Chinese ambassador to India Xu Feihong Thursday backed India on the issue of US tariffs saying China strongly opposed the Trump administration's move to impose 50% tariffs on India for its oil procurement from Russia. Xu said in the face of such acts, silence or compromise only emboldens the bully. "US has imposed tariffs of up to 50% on India and even threatened more. China firmly opposes it. China will firmly stand with India to uphold the multilateral trading system with WTO at its core," said the ambassador. He also said the essence of trade was to complement each other's advantages and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results, not a calculation of who loses and who gains. He said trade should not become a tool for pursuing individual selfish interests. "US has long benefited gr-eatly from free trade, but now it is using tariffs as a bargaining chip to demand exorbitant prices from various countries," said Xu at an event organised by thinktanks Chintan Research Foundation and Centre for Global India Insights. "The development of China and India has not been completely smooth, but fri-endship and cooperation have always been the main theme. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Benefits of Trading Bitcoin CFDs IC Markets Learn More Undo There might be challenges, but unity and cooperation are our only options," said Xu. His remarks came ahead of Modi's first visit to China in seven years. He will be in Ti-anjin on Aug 31 for SCO summit, on the margins of which he will have bilateral meetings with Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders of other member-states. The ambassador called for enhancing strategic trust and focusing on common interests. He said economic and trade structures of China and India were complementary. "We'll welcome more Indian commodities into the Chinese market. India has a competitive edge in IT, software and biomedicine, while China is seeing rapid expansion in the fields of electronic manufacturing, infrastructure construction and new energy. The Chinese side welcomes more Indian enterprises to invest in China. It is also hoped that the Indian side could provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for the Chinese enterprises in India, so as to promote common development of industries and benefit the people of the two nations," he said.
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Interesting times ahead: Trump slams Biden, says Ukraine must fight back
US President Donald Trump argued that Ukraine cannot win its war against Russia if it is only allowed to defend, sharply criticising Joe Biden for limiting Kyiv's response to Moscow's invasion.'It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader's country,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, likening Ukraine's struggle to a sports team forced to play only defense. There is no chance of winning! Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out?'advertisement The comments came after Russia launched its biggest missile and drone assault in more than a month, killing nine civilians in strikes and shelling, according to Ukrainian officials cited by met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15, but the talks produced no breakthrough on a ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted that security guarantees must be in place before he considers any the setback, Trump signalled he may push for a trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelenskyy. 'Regardless, this is a war that would have NEVER happened if I were President – ZERO CHANCE,' he wrote, promising 'interesting times ahead!!!'Zelenskyy dismissed any suggestion that Moscow is serious about peace, saying the latest strikes prove Russia is 'trying to wriggle out of the need to hold a meeting. They do not want to end this war. They are continuing their massive attacks against Ukraine and very fierce assaults on the front lines.'- EndsMust Watch
