Trump Approves Bill Proposing 500% Tariffs on Brazil, China, and India Over Russian Oil Trade
Trump also signed a memorandum on Wednesday under which it has withdrawn from India-led International Solar Alliance. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
By Editorial Team | January 9, 2026
India’s Stock Benchmark fell the most in 4 months after the announcement and oil and gas sector declined 2.8%
US President Donald Trump has approved a bipartisan Russian Sanctions Bill that could be used as leverage against India, China, and Brazil for continuing to buy Russian petroleum products, said US Senator Lindsay Graham.
Under the proposed Sanctioning Russia Act, 2025, any country engaging in the exchange of Russian-origin uranium as well as petroleum products will face the punitive tariff of at least 500% relative to the value of such goods and services. Although the bill has not been passed yet, Senator Graham in a statement said that it could be taken up for a bipartisan vote early next week.
Trump also signed a memorandum on Wednesday titled ‘Withdrawing the United States from International Organisations, Conventions, and Treaties that Are Contrary to the Interests of the United States’ under which it has withdrawn from India-led International Solar Alliance among dozens of other international organisation including 31 United Nations entities.
India has not responded to the proposal of a 500% tariff by the US. Earlier in the week at the House GOP member retreat, Trump remarked that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not happy with the imposition of 50% tariff on India over purchasing Russian oil. He added that India has raised concerns about the delays in receiving US military hardware.
Post the announcement, the US Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnik, in a podcast, said that the trade deal for rolling back or avoiding US tariffs on Indian exports did not materialise because PM Modi did not call Trump and India was given “three Fridays” for the deal last year, according to Bloomberg News.
India’s Stock Benchmark Fell Most in 4 Months
India’s stock benchmarks also recorded the steeped one-day decline in over four months on Thursday after the renewed US tariff announcement. The Nifty 50 and Sensex lost 1.7% and 1.8% respectively this week, according to a news article by Reuters. Foreign investors have also offloaded shares worth $900 million in January.
Oil and gas stocks fell 2.8%, the worst sessions in nine months with Reliance Industries losing 2.2% in the stock market. Reliance announced this week that it has not received any Russian cargo at its Jamnagar refinery through most of December and is not expecting Russian oil in January.
According to an article published in the Hindu, U.S. Ambassador-designate Sergio Gor will be visiting Delhi this weekend and his first order of business would likely be to push for a full stop to Indian oil imports from Russia, amidst signs that these have been reduced already.