United States Lawmaker Proposes Amendment Naming India in Russia Sanctions Bill with 100% Tariff Threat

Key facts

• Democratic Congressman Steny Hoyer moved an amendment to the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in the US House of Representatives naming India among 10 countries that could face 100% tariffs on trade in Russian oil.
• The other countries named in the amendment are China, Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Slovak Republic, UAE, Singapore, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyz Republic.
• The Senate version of the bill, passed on August 7 by a vote of 86 to 11, avoided naming countries and referred only to the five largest importers of oil and gas by volume.
• If the amendment survives the House process, it would be the first time India appears by name in the bill's text.
• Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks moved an amendment to remove Section 113, which gives the President broad power to place tariffs on countries trading with Russia, and also proposed USD 15 billion in direct loans to Ukraine for defence equipment.
• The bill would give President Donald Trump the power to impose 100% tariffs on Russia's largest oil trading partners, and the House had four working days left before an early recess ahead of the November 3 mid-term elections.