3 min readSep 19, 2026 06:30 AM IST First published on: Sep 19, 2026 at 06:30 AM ISTIn the aftermath of the US Congress passing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Bill, there is understandable concern — and consternation — about its effect on India’s energy security, one of its most consequential bilateral ties and the principle of strategic autonomy that animates New Delhi’s foreign policy. The Bill empowers the White House to impose up to 100 per cent tariffs on countries importing Russian oil and is targeted at India and China. In terms of principles and strategy, it is flawed. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s assertion of India’s right to “ensure energy security for its 1.4 billion people”, and his warning that the weaponisation of the Graham Bill against India could have “potential consequences” for India-US ties is, therefore, appropriate.The Bill shows that the Donald Trump administration hasn’t learnt the lessons from Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Passed in 2017, that law too sought to impose sanctions on the US’s “adversaries”. Nearly a decade later, many of those adversaries are engaged in wars on two continents. In addition to the direct devastation in West Asia and Eastern Europe, these conflicts have disrupted supply chains, escalated energy insecurity and made the global order more unstable. Delhi’s deft diplomacy and better sense in Washington ensured that an exception was carved out under CAATSA for India’s purchase of the S-400 missile defence system from Russia. India’s current stance, framed by EAM Jaishankar, also leaves room for accommodation without compromising on core issues. Much will now depend on behind-the-scenes diplomacy.AdvertisementMuch of the world, including India, had no part in creating the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia. The Trump administration, which rode to power on a plank of ending America’s “forever wars”, cannot evade complicity in the deepening of the West Asia crisis. Dissonance between principles and practice is, of course, a part of global realpolitik, especially when it comes to superpowers. But that practicality cuts both ways. The White House’s special envoys visited Russia to try to end the conflict in Ukraine. A substantial portion of Europe’s energy needs are met by Russian gas, with no talk of sanctions. The Graham Bill may well be a pressure tactic —to nudge Russia towards a peace deal, and India, a trade agreement — but it is a blunt instrument. As choked energy supplies threaten to snowball into steep price rises in the US, the Trump administration, which faces crucial mid-term elections, may want to be seen as trying to act tough against Russia. But shifting the blame onto countries like India could prove counterproductive. Middle powers do need to find ways to navigate this geoeconomic churn. But Washington’s blinkered vision could lead to a loss of trust in the US.