House sends Trump a Russia-Iran bill that can put 100 percent tariffs on Indian and Chinese goods

The House of Representatives passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by 262 votes to 159 on Wednesday and sent it to President Donald Trump. The Senate had already approved the same text 86-11 on 7 August. The bill does not impose a tariff on anyone the day it is signed. It gives the president the power to do so.

The tariff clause is the piece that reached New Delhi and Beijing. Once the law is in force, the president may apply duties of up to 100 percent on the five countries that imported the largest volumes of Russian crude oil or natural gas in the previous twelve months, if they keep buying Russian oil 30 days after enactment. The same tool can be used against any of those five if they are found to be helping Russia evade oil sanctions.

An exemption exists for countries that have cut Russian gas purchases in a substantial way, or whose Russian gas imports are less than 15 percent of Russia's total gas exports. That language was written for European holdouts, not for India or China.

How the vote broke

Two hundred and three Republicans, 58 Democrats and one independent voted yes. Seven Republicans and 152 Democrats voted no. Most of the Democratic opposition was aimed at the tariff power, not at the Russia sanctions themselves. A Steny Hoyer amendment that would have named ten possible targets, including India, China, Turkey, Hungary, Slovakia, the UAE and Singapore, did not make the final text.

The bill is named for the late South Carolina senator, who spent more than a year building the package and died in July. It adds sanctions on Russian officials, banks and the "shadow fleet" of tankers used to move discounted crude outside the G7 price cap. It also extends existing U.S. sanctions on Iran for five years, a clause the White House wanted in the same vehicle.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who backed the bill, put the warning in one sentence after the vote: "China and India, you better buy your oil and gas somewhere else."

Why India is exposed

India increased purchases of Russian crude after 2022 and again after the Iran war began in February. Imports hit an 11-month high in April, according to figures reported by The Hindu. Those barrels replaced some Middle East supply that became harder or more expensive to move through Hormuz. They also put India on any list of the top five buyers by volume.

The tariff is discretionary. Trump can sign the bill and never use the clause. He can also use it as leverage in the preliminary trade talks already under way with New Delhi. That is the design. Congress wrote a tool that can be pointed at Indian exports to the United States without a second vote.

China sits in the same legal position. So do other large buyers if their volumes land them in the top five when the clock starts. The law looks backward twelve months from enactment, so the ranking will be fixed by whatever the customs and tanker data show on the day Trump signs.

What still has to happen

Trump has not said when he will sign. The Iran extension is the section his aides asked for. The secondary-tariff section is the section that collides with his other files: a trade deal with India, a coming state visit by Xi Jinping, and oil prices that are already above $100 because of the war he started in February.

Using the 100 percent tariff on Indian goods would hit a partner Washington is also courting as a counterweight to China. Leaving the power unused would leave Moscow's remaining oil customers on notice without collecting the duty. Either choice now sits on the Resolute desk, attached to a bill that already has the votes.