Trumps backs bill for very high tariffs on India, China for buying Russian oil: US Senator
New York/Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump has backed a sanctions bill that could impose 500 per cent tariffs on countries buying Russian oil, giving the White House leverage against countries like China and India to stop them from purchasing cheap oil from Moscow.
US Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday said that the legislation would give the White House "tremendous leverage" against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivise them to stop buying cheap oil from Russia.
“After a very productive meeting today with President Trump on a variety of issues, he greenlit the bipartisan Russia sanctions bill that I have been working on for months with Senator Blumenthal and many others,” Graham said in a post on X Wednesday.
ALSO READ: ‘No state has right to use force’: Russia on US seizure of tanker in North Atlantic
“This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace, and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent. This bill will allow President Trump to punish those countries who buy cheap Russian oil, fuelling Putin’s war machine,” he said.
“This bill would give President Trump tremendous leverage against countries like China, India and Brazil to incentivise them to stop buying the cheap Russian oil that provides the financing for Putin’s bloodbath against Ukraine,” he added.
Graham said he looks forward to a “strong” bipartisan vote on the bill, “hopefully as early as next week.”
Trump has imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, among the highest in the world, including 25 per cent levies for its purchases of Russian energy.
Graham and Blumenthal have introduced the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which would impose secondary tariffs and sanctions on “countries that continue to fund Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine.”
The legislation has proposed a 500 per cent tariff on secondary purchase and reselling of Russian oil and one that almost every single member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has co-sponsored.
“President Trump and his team have made a powerful move, implementing a new approach to end this bloodbath between Russia and Ukraine...However, the ultimate hammer to bring about the end of this war will be tariffs against countries, like China, India and Brazil, that prop up Putin’s war machine by purchasing cheap Russian oil and gas,” a joint statement by Graham and Blumenthal had said last year.
Earlier this week, Graham had said that Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra informed him about New Delhi reducing its purchases of Russian oil and asked him to convey to President Donald Trump to “relieve the tariff” imposed on India.
Graham, accompanying Trump on Air Force One on Sunday, was talking about his tariff bill.
Graham said that to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, pressure must be put on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s customers. Trump said that the sanctions are hurting Russia very badly and then mentioned India.
Graham then said that the US put a 25 per cent tariff on India for buying Russian oil.
“I was at the Indian Ambassador's house about a month ago, and all he wanted to talk about is how they are buying less Russian oil," Graham said. He added that the Indian envoy conveyed to him 'Would you tell the President to relieve the tariff?'"
“This stuff works...but if you are buying cheap Russian oil, keeping Putin's war machine going, we are trying to give the President the ability to make that a hard choice by tariffs. I really do believe that what he (Trump) did with India is the chief reason India is now buying substantially less Russian oil,” Graham said.
India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra had last month hosted US Senators, including Graham, Blumenthal, Sheldon Whitehouse, Peter Welch, Dan Sullivan and Markwayne Mullin at India House, the official residence of the Ambassador of India in Washington, DC. “Had fruitful conversations on the India-US partnership from energy and defence cooperation to trade and important global developments. Grateful for their support for a stronger India–US relationship,” Kwatra had said in a post on X.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Gurugram CA held for slitting pregnant wife's throat with scissors
Jhajjar (PTI): A chartered accountant has been arrested for allegedly killing his pregnant wife by slitting her throat with a pair of scissors and trying to pass it off as a robbery attempt, police said on Wednesday.
According to police, Anshul Dhawan (31) got married to Mehak (27) in September last year. Both worked in Gurugram.
Police received a call on Sunday night reporting that some unidentified people tried to rob Anshul, took his car and kidnapped his wife, SHO Badli, Inspector Suresh said.
When police reached the spot, they found the woman's body near a dry canal with injury marks on her neck, he said.
Suspecting inconsistencies in Anshul's version of events, police took him into custody for interrogation. He confessed that he had killed Mehak with a pair of scissors, wearing gloves, over suspicions about her character, SHO said.
"During his questioning, it came to light that he had pre-planned the murder. His wife worked in a private bank in Gurugram. He had doubts that she talked to her friends, and he did not like it," SHO added. Following the confession, Anshul was arrested on Monday.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police said.
Mehak's sister, Shruti, told the reporters that the family had doubts that Anshul was involved in the murder. She said, "We want justice; the killer should be hanged. He did not even think that his wife was two months pregnant."
She said on February 15, Anshul came to their house and stayed only for ten minutes and left with Mehal for Gurugram.
Shruti alleged that Anshul had pre-planned the murder.
