A group of senators from both parties in the United States have introduced a plan that would target five nations—including China and India—with tariffs of one hundred percent on oil imported from Russia.
Exempting fifteen European nations that import gas from Russia from the tariffs, the bill, which was mediated by the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, argues that these purchases constitute a small fraction of the nations’ total demand and that these countries were attempting to lessen their reliance on Moscow.
The duties will affect a number of countries, including China and India, as well as Slovakia, Hungary, and Azerbaijan.
Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal informed reporters here on Tuesday evening that the measure, which has been called a tariffs bill, actually imposes full blocking sanctions on large segments of the Russian economy, such as its energy sector, financial sector, defence industrial base, oligarchs, businesspeople, and even Vladimir Putin.
It restricts the waiver authority to a small subset of potential buyers and applies tariffs that are highly targeted, affecting only the five largest buyers (up to a maximum of 100 percent). According to Blumenthal, China, India, Slovakia, Hungary, and Azerbaijan are the top five oil buyers at the moment.
If the measure were to become law, it would be a historic first: the authorisation by Congress of tariffs as a geopolitical weapon to penalise nations that support the war efforts of other nations.
Oil and gas imported from Russia would have been subject to tariffs of 500 percent in a previous iteration of the measure.
“Our European allies are not targeted here,” Blumenthal stated. “The primary buyer of Russian oil and gas has been the sole target of this bill, which we have meticulously drafted, modified, and aimed at.”
Image: The Hindu
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