US House Gears Up for Russia Sanctions Vote: Amendment Targets India and others 100%

The United States House of Representatives is gearing up for a high-stakes floor vote on a sweeping Russia sanctions package, featuring a contentious amendment that explicitly names India and nine other nations for potential secondary tariffs of up to 100 per cent.

The legislation, formally known as the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, advanced through the House Rules Committee to reach the chamber floor. While the US Senate previously passed a version in August utilising an open-ended, volume-based formula targeting the world's largest importers of Russian energy, deliberations in the House have introduced stricter, explicit country-naming mechanisms.

The Hoyer Amendment and Explicit Country Targeting

The legislative battle revolves around an amendment introduced by veteran Democratic Congressman Steny Hoyer. Defending the proposal before the Rules Committee, Hoyer argued that the change is designed to close loopholes, prevent trade data manipulation, and eliminate ambiguous executive triggers.

Rather than relying on an open-ended formula that tracks the top five importers by volume—which implicitly ensnares major buyers like New Delhi and Beijing—Hoyer’s text explicitly lists 10 countries. Alongside India and China, the amendment names Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, the UAE, Singapore, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. Under these provisions, these trading partners would face prohibitive duties of up to 100 per cent on exports to the US if they persist in purchasing Russian crude oil or natural gas.

Pushing back against the measure, opposing lawmakers led by Congressman Gregory Meeks have attempted to strip the secondary-tariff sections entirely, warning that the provisions hand the White House unchecked economic leverage.

New Delhi's Energy Stance and Legislative Timeline

New Delhi has consistently defended its energy purchasing strategy, maintaining that imports of discounted Russian seaborne crude are essential for safeguarding national energy security and keeping international petroleum prices stable.

With the House operating under a tight schedule ahead of an early recess for the November midterm elections, lawmakers must resolve whether the final bill will retain Hoyer’s explicit country list or revert to the broader framework when it heads toward final floor action.