US House passed the Russia sanctions bill by 262 to 159 and India responded to the threat of 100% tariffs

The bill entitled the 'Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026', voted on in the House of Representatives on Wednesday evening, was passed by 262 votes to 159 and sent to President Trump for signature. The Senate had approved the bill by 86 votes to 11 on 7 August 2026. The act gives authority to sanction Russia's political leadership, its energy sector and the 'shadow fleet' vessels used to evade sanctions, and allows tariffs of up to 100% to be applied to countries buying Russian oil and natural gas. India and China are among the targets named explicitly in the text.

In a statement on Thursday, India's Ministry of External Affairs said the matter had been discussed at senior level with various US counterparts in recent months and that the possible consequences, not only for bilateral relations but also for the international energy market, had been set out clearly. The ministry said the country was determined to secure the energy security of its 1.4 billion people and would take the steps necessary to protect its trade and economic interests; it added that the government would work closely with Indian trade and industry bodies.

The ministry did not say what concrete measures would be taken; none of the options such as retaliatory tariffs, a change in import sources or payment channel arrangements was formally raised. Reports sourced to PTI said the statement was issued through the External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal; that attribution does not appear in The Week's report and could not be independently verified. Whether the act has been signed by the President had not been confirmed as of the hour this record was written.