Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: With the US Congress passing a law targeting five countries, including India and China, for buying Russian crude oil, New Delhi said on Thursday it would protect the country’s energy security and warned that the new tariffs could strain bilateral ties, the media reported.
After the US House passed legislation allowing sanctions and steep tariffs targeting Russian energy buyers, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said India will continue diversified sourcing based on market dynamics.
India remains firmly committed to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people, and it will continue to do so through diversified sourcing, the MEA said on Thursday while reacting to the US Congress passing the Russia sanctions legislation.
The US House of Representatives has passed the “Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act” that authorises President Donald Trump to impose sanctions on Russia and steep tariffs on its trading partners such as India and China in the oil and gas sector.
“As stated on several earlier occasions, India remains firmly committed to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people,” the MEA said in a statement.
The issue has been “discussed at high levels in recent months with various US interlocutors.”
“Its potential implications for not just the bilateral relationship but also the international energy market has been very clearly articulated by the Indian side,” it said.
India has also made it clear to the US its determination to take all necessary measures to protect the country’s trade and economic interests.
100% tariff
The legislation, approved 262-159, would give Trump the authority to impose steep tariffs on countries buying Russian oil and gas, while expanding sanctions on Moscow’s energy sector.
Besides 203 Republicans, 58 Democrats and one independent lawmaker voted in favour of the legislation. Seven Republicans and 152 Democrats opposed it.
Democratic opposition largely centred around the tariff authorities provided to Trump.
The bill is named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July after spending more than a year building support for it.
“What we’re not for is giving more tariff authority to this president,” Congressman Richard Neal, a Democrat, said during debate on the bill.
The bill seeks to impose sanctions not only on Russia’s leadership and energy sector, but also on the “shadow fleet” of vessels that enable Moscow to evade sanctions on oil deliveries.
It also seeks to authorise Trump to impose stiff tariffs on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas, as well as additional sanctions on Iran.
“China and India, you better buy your oil and gas somewhere else,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, told reporters after the passage of the Bill.
“Russia is getting that oil and gas sold by using the shadow fleet, which means that it’s being bought at less than market rates, and it’s going mostly to countries like China and India,” Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen said.
“China is the top user of Russian oil and gas, and we need to send a very strong message, not just to Putin, but to China, and to anybody who is buying Russian oil and gas, that they are going to pay a price for that,” Shaheen said.
The passage of the bill comes days ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s official visit to the US.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed the bill by a vote of 86-11 last month, but momentum slowed in the House.
Passage of the bill in the House came on the final day that the House is expected to be in session for votes before the November 3 midterm elections to Congress.