US Russia Sanctions Act Grants Washington Trade Leverage While Threatening Indian Energy Security

Gist The United States Congress has passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 , aiming to cripple Moscow's energy revenues by authorising steep tariffs on its major oil and gas buyers. For India, which relies heavily on discounted Russian crude to meet its massive domestic energy needs, this legislation threatens to disrupt established supply chains and inflate national import bills. Crucially, the Bill arms the incoming US administration with a powerful statutory lever to extract concessions in bilateral trade negotiations, forcing New Delhi to carefully balance its strategic energy autonomy with complex geopolitical pressures. Background Following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Western nations heavily sanctioned Russian energy, prompting Moscow to offer deep discounts to alternative buyers. Capitalising on these discounts, Russia rapidly displaced traditional West Asian suppliers to become India's primary source of crude oil. The United States has continuously sought mechanisms to squeeze Moscow's war funding, initially proposing a severe 500% tariff on Russian energy buyers before watering it down to a 100% cap in the current legislation. The US administration has been…