New Delhi: Refusing to bow down to the pressure from the United States of America (USA) after its President Donald Trump signed a bill authorizing new sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil, India said it does not operate under pressure from any other nation and for the government its people remain top priority.
The Congress party supported the Indian government’s decision saying the only way to counter a bully is to resist him forcefully.
Responding to the question on the Russian Sanctions Bill and its possible impact on India, Minister of State of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Kirti Vardhan Singh said on Saturday, “The people of India are the top priority for our government. We will take every measure that benefits our public.
We will take decisive steps to ensure the strength and stability of our nation and its population. We maintain an independent foreign policy.
We do not align ourselves based on the dictates of other nations but rather act in the best interests of our own country.
We have consistently maintained that the tariffs being imposed are unfair, and we do not operate under pressure from any other nation.
Energy is a primary concern for us; we will source energy for our country and our people from wherever we find commercially viable and economical options.”
The legislation, approved by US lawmakers this week, and signed by Trump on Friday, takes aim at Russia’s energy and defense sectors, alongside President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials.
It allows Trump the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on major buyers of Russian oil and gas which will impact India and China directly.
India said on Thursday it would continue buying oil “through diversified sourcing.”
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce reacted Saturday, saying it reserved the right “to take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard China’s national sovereignty and development interests, as well as the legitimate and just rights and interests of Chinese companies.”
Reacting to the tariff, the Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “The only way to counter a bully is to resist him forcefully.
The NCP (SP) demanded that the Centre make public a detailed assessment of India’s economic exposure to a new US law and warned that forcing India to scale back Russian oil imports under Washington’s pressure would burden citizens with higher fuel costs.
On Friday, the President signed into law: H.R. 5334, the ‘Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,’ which authorises and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran, the White House said.
The Act also authorises President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries buying Russian oil and gas, including China and India.
The law gives Trump wide discretion over implementation, including which countries face tariffs, the tariff rates imposed, and whether sanctions provisions are waived.
Indian exporters said the new US law is a major concern as it is creating uncertainty over the otherwise healthy trade relations between the two countries, and such duties, if imposed, could severely disrupt India’s exports to America, according to exporters.
They added that the Russia-Ukraine war and West Asia crisis have already pushed up raw material prices and transportation costs.
The US is the largest trading partner of India. India’s main exports to the US included drug formulations and biologicals, telecom instruments, precious and semi-precious stones, petroleum products, vehicle and auto components, gold and other precious metal jewellery, ready-made garments of cotton, including accessories, and products of iron and steel.
Imports included crude oil, petroleum products, coal, coke, cut and polished diamonds, electric machinery, aircraft, spacecraft and parts, and gold.
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