A 500% tariff on Russian oil buyers? Why a US bill could shut India out of its biggest export market

Jan 10, 2026 | 20:44 IST

First 25%, then another 25%....now a possible 500% tariff. The number sounds extreme because it is designed to end commerce, not tax it. If a 500% tariff is imposed, it would effectively be a trade embargo that for all practical purposes halt all Indian exports to the US.

India is once again facing the heat of a proposed US law that seeks to levy a whopping 500% tariffs on countries for buying Russian crude oil. US Republican senator Lindsey Graham said on Jan 7 that US President Donald Trump has “greenlit” the ‘Russia Sanctions Bill’ that has been in limbo for the past few months.

“This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace, and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent. This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil, fuelling Putin's war machine,” Graham, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and a senator for the US state of South Carolina, said in a post on X.

TOI

TOI

A 500% tariff on Russian oil buyers? Why a US bill could shut India out of its biggest export market

First 25%, then another 25%....now a possible 500% tariff. The number sounds extreme because it is designed to end commerce, not tax it. If a 500% tariff is imposed, it would effectively be a trade embargo that for all practical purposes halt all Indian exports to the US.

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TOI

A 500% tariff on Russian oil buyers? Why a US bill could shut India out of its biggest export market

First 25%, then another 25%....now a possible 500% tariff. The number sounds extreme because it is designed to end commerce, not tax it. If a 500% tariff is imposed, it would effectively be a trade embargo that for all practical purposes halt all Indian exports to the US.

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