US tariffs against Russian oil buyers pass: What it means for China, India

US sanctions aim to weaken Russian oil exports, heavily targeting China and India as Moscow’s largest energy buyers.

The new bill, which has yet to be signed by President Donald Trump, allows him to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent, but does not automatically trigger them [File: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images]

United States Congress has passed a bill that gives President Donald Trump sweeping powers to impose sanctions on Russia’s crude exports as well as steep tariffs on buyers of Russian energy, a measure which will impact Moscow’s biggest customers, China and India .

The legislation, passed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday and sent to Trump to sign into law, is the most significant US action against Moscow since the president’s return to the White House.

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Here is what we know:

What is the law about?

The “Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026”, named after the late senator who was a staunch supporter of Ukraine up until his death in July, is designed to curtail the economic pipeline that has enabled Russia to fund its war against Ukraine , now in its fifth year.

Major provisions include new sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as on more than 20 top officials and companies that work with the Russian defence industry. It also targets Russia’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers and the network it uses to evade international sanctions on energy exports.

The bill gives the president authority to impose sanctions by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Under it, he will be able to apply tariffs of up to 100 percent on exports to the US from the top five purchasers of Russian energy, military equipment or countries facilitating Russian sanctions evasion.

Tariffs of up to 500 percent can also be applied to Russian imports directly into the US. The US imported $3.8bn in goods from Russia in 2025.

Who is buying Russian energy?

China and India are the top two buyers of Russian energy and likely to be hit hardest by the new legislation. China buys about half of Russian crude oil exports, followed by India at 37 percent, according to August data from the think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).

Turkiye and the European Union each import about 5 percent, the report says.

How have India and China responded?

India, one of the world’s largest crude importers and a country whose dependence on foreign oil is expected to grow further in the coming years, is in a tricky position as its attempts to diversify away from Russian energy were disrupted by the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz.

Hours after the US Congress approved the bill, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said New Delhi had raised the issue with various US interlocutors in recent months, and had “very clearly articulated” the potential implications for the bilateral relationship and the international energy market.

“The Indian side has also made clear its determination to take all necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests,” it said in a statement. The government will work closely with trade and industry bodies to deal with the legislation’s implications, it added.

The pressure could be particularly acute for India. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that India’s rising reliance on crude imports has “major implications” for its energy security. Replacing Russian supplies could also mean sourcing more crude from producers farther away, including in the Americas.

Recent experience suggests India has been more responsive to Western pressure over Russian oil purchases than China. According to the IEA, tanker-tracking data show Indian imports of Russian crude fell to 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, their lowest level since November 2022 and down from an average of 1.7 million bpd in 2025. By contrast, Russian crude deliveries to China surged to an all-time high that month.

China faces a tough choice. It must weigh the benefits of cheap Russian crude against steep US trade penalties.

“China systematically opposes extraterritorial jurisdiction, which lacks a basis in international law and does not have the authorisation of the United Nations Security Council,” said the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Jiakun. Beijing “has always carried out normal economic and trade cooperation with countries around the world on the basis of equality and mutual benefit,” he said, adding that “such cooperation is not directed against third parties nor is it subject to interference or coercion by third parties.”

China does have one important advantage over India: Not all of its Russian oil arrives by sea. It receives crude through the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline system, providing an overland supply route that is unaffected by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

But the calculation for both countries has changed since the war with Iran began. Disruptions to Middle East supplies have made Russian barrels more, rather than less, important to Asian buyers, complicating Washington’s attempt to use access to the US market to pressure Moscow’s largest energy customers.

How will this impact the oil market globally?

The question now is how aggressively Trump will use his new powers, analysts say. The legislation allows him to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent, but does not automatically trigger them.

Trying to squeeze large volumes of Russian crude out of the market, however, could prove particularly difficult at a time when alternate supplies are already under severe pressure.

Iran has de facto controlled traffic through the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for joint US-Israeli attacks on its territory since late February, disrupting one of the world’s most important energy routes. About one-fifth of global oil supplies were shipped through the waterway before the war began.

Alternate routes are also under pressure. Following a drone attack last week, Saudi Arabia temporarily shut down its East-West pipeline, the kingdom’s most important route for bypassing Hormuz and transporting crude from its oil-producing east to the Red Sea. Riyadh has already cancelled a number of deliveries to European customers because of the disruption.

If US tariffs push major importers to sharply reduce their purchases of Russian crude as well, they could be forced to compete for barrels elsewhere in an already tight market, potentially sending global oil prices sharply higher.

美国制裁旨在削弱俄罗斯石油出口，重点针对中国和印度，因为这两个国家是莫斯科最大的能源买家。

这项尚未由唐纳德·特朗普总统签署的新法案允许他征收最高达 100% 的关税，但不会自动触发这些关税。[图片：Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images]

美国国会通过了一项法案，赋予唐纳德·特朗普总统广泛的权力，可以对俄罗斯原油出口实施制裁，并对俄罗斯能源买家征收高额关税。这项措施将影响莫斯科最大的客户——中国和印度。

该法案于周三在众议院获得通过，并已送交特朗普总统签署生效，这是自总统重返白宫以来美国对莫斯科采取的最重大行动。

北约在立陶宛上空击落无人机（共3架，此为第1架），“可能”由俄罗斯发射。

名单2/3：埃托奥可能因涉嫌向俄罗斯支付款项而面临喀麦隆调查

列表 3/3：伊朗外长访问北京之际，中国能否扮演和平缔造者的角色？

我们目前掌握的情况如下：

这条法律是关于什么的？

《2026 年林赛·格雷厄姆制裁俄罗斯法案》以已故参议员林赛·格雷厄姆的名字命名，他生前一直是乌克兰的坚定支持者，该法案旨在切断俄罗斯资助其对乌克兰战争的经济渠道，这场战争现在已经持续了五年。

主要条款包括对俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京以及20多名与俄罗斯国防工业相关的公司和高级官员实施新的制裁。该制裁还针对俄罗斯的“影子油轮船队”及其用于规避国际能源出口制裁的网络。

该法案赋予总统援引《国际紧急经济权力法》（IEEPA）实施制裁的权力。根据该法案，总统可以对从俄罗斯能源、军事装备或协助俄罗斯规避制裁的国家购买的五大俄罗斯商品出口到美国的商品征收最高达100%的关税。

美国对直接进口到俄罗斯的商品也可能征收高达500%的关税。2025年，美国从俄罗斯进口了价值38亿美元的商品。

谁在购买俄罗斯能源？

中国和印度是俄罗斯能源的两大买家，也可能是受新法规冲击最大的国家。根据智库能源与清洁空气研究中心（CREA）8月份的数据，中国购买了俄罗斯原油出口的约一半，印度位居第二，占37%。

报告称，土耳其和欧盟的进口量均约为5%。

印度和中国对此作何反应？

印度是世界上最大的原油进口国之一，而且预计未来几年其对外国石油的依赖程度还会进一步增加。由于霍尔木兹海峡的关闭，印度摆脱对俄罗斯能源依赖的努力受到了干扰，这使得印度的处境变得十分棘手。

美国国会批准该法案数小时后，印度外交部表示，新德里近几个月来已与多位美国对话者提出​​了该问题，并“非常明确地阐述”了该法案对双边关系和国际能源市场的潜在影响。

声明称，“印方也已明确表示，决心采取一切必要措施保护其贸易和经济利益。”声明还补充说，政府将与贸易和行业机构密切合作，应对该项立法带来的影响。

印度面临的压力可能尤为严峻。国际能源署（IEA）警告称，印度日益依赖原油进口对其能源安全具有“重大影响”。替代俄罗斯原油供应也可能意味着需要从更远的产油国（包括美洲产油国）采购更多原油。

近期经验表明，印度对西方施压要求减少俄罗斯原油进口的反应比中国更为积极。国际能源署（IEA）的数据显示，油轮追踪数据显示，1月份印度从俄罗斯进口的原油量降至每日110万桶，为2022年11月以来的最低水平，低于2025年平均每日170万桶的水平。相比之下，当月俄罗斯对中国的原油交付量却飙升至历史新高。

中国面临艰难抉择。它必须权衡廉价俄罗斯原油带来的好处与美国严厉的贸易制裁。

中国外交部发言人郭家琨表示，“中国一贯反对域外管辖，域外管辖既无国际法依据，也未经联合国安理会授权。” 他说，北京“始终在平等互利的基础上与世界各国开展正常的经贸合作”，并补充说，“这种合作不针对任何第三方，也不受任何第三方干涉或胁迫。”

中国相对于印度确实拥有一项重要优势：并非所有俄罗斯石油都通过海运运抵中国。中国通过东西伯利亚-太平洋输油管道系统接收原油，这条陆路供应路线不受霍尔木兹海峡中断的影响。

但自伊朗战争爆发以来，两国的考量都发生了变化。中东石油供应中断，使得俄罗斯原油对亚洲买家的重要性不减反增，这使得华盛顿试图利用进入美国市场来向莫斯科最大的能源客户施压的努力变得更加复杂。

这将对全球石油市场产生怎样的影响？

分析人士指出，现在的问题是，特朗普将如何积极地运用他的新权力。该法案允许他征收最高达100%的关税，但并非自动触发。

然而，在其他供应已经面临巨大压力的情况下，试图将大量俄罗斯原油从市场上挤出可能会变得尤为困难。

自2月下旬以来，伊朗事实上控制了霍尔木兹海峡的交通，以此报复美国和以色列对其领土的联合袭击，并扰乱了世界上最重要的能源运输通道之一。在战争爆发前，全球约五分之一的石油供应都经由这条水道运输。

其他运输路线也面临压力。上周发生无人机袭击后，沙特阿拉伯暂时关闭了其东西输油管道，这条管道是沙特绕过霍尔木兹海峡、将原油从东部产油区输送到红海的最重要通道。由于输油管道中断，利雅得已经取消了向欧洲客户的部分原油交付。

如果美国加征关税迫使主要进口国大幅减少俄罗斯原油的购买量，它们可能被迫在原本就供应紧张的市场中与其他国家的原油展开竞争，从而可能导致全球油价大幅上涨。