New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) With a bipartisan group of US senators unveiling a bill that seeks to impose 100 per cent tariffs on India for purchasing oil from Russia, the Congress on Wednesday sought clarification from Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal over the issue and claimed that the country is being "humiliated" by the threat of punitive action.

The bipartisan group of US senators has unveiled a bill that seeks to impose 100 per cent tariffs on five countries, including India and China, for purchasing oil from Russia.

The bill, brokered by late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, exempts 15 European nations that buy gas from Russia from the tariffs, arguing that the purchases amount to a fraction of their total requirement and the countries in question are taking steps to reduce their dependence on Moscow.

Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "Piyush Goyal, who is quick to dismiss reports that India is holding out for a better trade deal with the US, should clarify this. These aren't House Democrats. These are Republican Senators -- backed by Trump himself -- demanding 100 per cent tariffs on India and four other countries for buying Russian oil." "Imagine the humiliation: needing Trump's approval to buy Russian oil, and now being threatened with punitive tariffs for doing exactly that," Khera said in a post on X.

Apart from India and China, the other countries that will be hit by the tariffs are Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan.

If the bill is passed, it would be the first time that the US Congress would explicitly authorise the use of tariffs as a geopolitical weapon, with the goal of punishing countries financing another nation's war effort. PTI ASK RC

Punitive tariffs for Russian oil purchases could make trade duties a geopolitical mechanism targeting India and other countries. Proposed United States tariff legislation would impose punitive tariffs on India and other specified countries for purchasing oil from Russia. Certain European countries purchasing Russian gas would be exempted on the stated basis that their purchases are limited and that they are reducing dependence on Russia. If enacted, the measure would expressly authorise tariffs as a geopolitical mechanism directed at countries considered to be financing another nation's war effort.