US senators on Tuesday unveiled an updated version of the Russia sanctions bill, championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, which eases the original proposal's tariff threat on China, India and other importers of Russian oil and gas. The bill, backed by both Republican and Democratic senators, seeks to impose sanctions on Russian officials and to use tariffs to pressure China and India to reduce their dependence on Russia as an energy supplier.

Graham, who died suddenly on Saturday, had announced during a trip to Ukraine just a day earlier that he had reached an agreement with Republican President Donald Trump to move forward with the bill, more than a year after it was introduced.

India, along with China, is one of the world’s largest importers of Russian crude oil. Under the revised proposal, the maximum tariff would apply only to the top five buyers of Russian oil and natural gas, instead of all importing countries as originally envisaged in the earlier draft.

No 500% tariff but 100%

The new version of the measure eases tariffs that could be placed on third-party buyers of Russian oil and natural gas to a maximum of 100 per cent on the top five purchasers, from the previous proposal's blanket 500 per cent. It also allows an exception for countries which import less than 15 per cent of Russia's natural gas exports and which are taking significant steps to reduce those imports, which could exempt Japan, France, Hungary and Belgium.

ALSO READ: MEA Says India ‘Closely Following’ US Bill Proposing 500% Tariffs Over Russian Oil Imports

Which are the top 5 countries importing Russian energy? 

The top five purchasers of Russian crude are China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan, and the top importers of Russian natural gas are China, France, Japan, Hungary and Belgium, the aides said.

The measure also imposes sanctions on Russia's shadow fleet of tankers that do not depend on Western maritime services, on Russian financial institutions including the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, and on Russia's largest state-owned energy projects, including Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 1, 2 and 3.In addition, the new version includes a provision that allows Trump to waive the sanctions if he deems it in the US national interest to do so.

(With inputs from Reuters)

ALSO READ: Indian Ambassador Meets US Senator Who Warned Of 500% Tariff, Reaffirms Energy Trade Commitment

You may also like to watch