US Russia sanctions bill eases threat of tariffs on China and India

The bill is changed from the original version introduced by Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, in April 2025.

The new version of the measure eases tariffs that could be placed on third-party buyers of Russian oil and natural gas to a maximum of 100% on the top five purchasers, from the previous proposal's blanket 500%.

It also allows an exception for countries which import less than 15% of Russia's natural gas exports and which are taking significant steps to reduce those imports, which could exempt Japan, France, Hungary and Belgium.

The top five purchasers of Russian crude are China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan, and the top importers of Russian natural gas are China, France, Japan, Hungary and Belgium, the aides said.

The measure also imposes sanctions on Russia's shadow fleet of tankers that do not depend on Western maritime services, on Russian financial institutions including the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, and on Russia's largest state-owned energy projects, including Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 1, 2 and 3.