India conveys concerns to US Senator on Russian oil 'tariff'
senator Lindsey Graham
on a proposed bill seeking to impose a 500% tariff on countries importing crude oil from Russia.
"Regarding Senator Lindsey Graham's bill, any development which is happening in the US Congress is of interest to us if it impacts our interest or could impact our interest. So we have been in touch with Senator Lindsey Graham. The embassy, ambassador have been in touch," Jaishankar told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
He said Graham has been made aware of India's concerns and interests in the energy and security space. "We'll then have to cross that bridge when we come to it, if we come to it," he added.
Experts on Russian-US affairs indicated that India could be seeking a waiver under the bill.
The bill proposes to levy a 500% tariff on any nation that buys Russian oil, natural gas, uranium, and other products. The bill has over 80 co-sponsors in the Senate, potentially making it veto-proof.
Speaking to ABC news on Sunday, Graham claimed US President Trump told him that the sanctions bill should be brought forward for a vote.
Earlier in May, Graham said he is in touch with Trump about the bill. Republican lawmakers have indicated they are worried about moving the bill but are waiting for Trump's approval before bringing it to the floor of the Senate.
The proposed bill comes amid efforts by the White House to stabilise ties with the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, Jaishankar also acknowledged the challenge of finding consensus among international partners. He said countries are not supporting each other "sufficiently enough" when countering terrorism.
"Part of diplomacy is to exhort them, encourage them, persuade them, motivate them to do that, and which is why it's important to speak up, and which is why it's important to carry them with us to the best possibility," he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Congress targets govt, SEBI on Jane Street ‘market manipulation'
The Congress on Tuesday hit out at the SEBI and the government for not taking timely action against US algorithm trading firm Jane Street for 'stock market manipulation'. Congress head of social media department Supriya Shrinate said Jane Street had in 2024 admitted in a US court it made $1 billion in India in 2023 from the Indian options market by exploiting 'inefficiencies'. 'By 2024, that amount grew to $2.3 billion, which was 11.2% of all the money it made around the world. But SEBI didn't act on this information, it was only in February 2025 that SEBI issued a mild warning, a cautionary letter to Jane Street, warning against its questionable trading patterns. But the firm continued its manipulative trades till as late as May 2025,' Shrinate said. Criticising SEBI, she said its 'report shows that 93% of retail investors lost money in derivatives trading between FY2021 and FY2024'. 'In FY2024 alone, 91.1% of traders lost Rs 52,400 crore,' she said. She said instead of protecting small investors, SEBI turned a blind eye to 'rampant fraudulent activities'.
Indian Express
29 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Delhi Confidential: Crisis Management
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar are likely to meet the Congress high command, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday in Delhi. Sources said the discussions may include the recent crisis in the state when some MLAs demanded that Shivakumar be made the CM. The meeting comes just days after the power tussle was somewhat settled after Siddaramaiah asserted that he will remain the Chief Minister for the entire five-year period, while Shivakumar conceded that he had no option but to stand by the CM. Praise & Pressure On a day when Union Minister Chirag Paswan thanked Bihar CM Nitish Kumar for approving domicile policy in job reservation for women and announcing the setting up of Yuva Aayog in Bihar, his party seemed to be putting pressure on the NDA leadership in the state. LJP (Ram Vilas) MP Arun Bharti on Tuesday counted Nitish among leaders who had grown old and suggested that Bihar needed a young leader to take Bahujan politics forward. 'Remember the top leaders of the Bahujan movement… Kanshi Ram-ji, Mayawati-ji, Mulayam Singh-ji… our founder Ram Vilas Paswan-ji… Lalu-ji who is very ill and Nitish Kumar who is old now… We are contesting under his leadership, but it can't be denied he is old… in such a situation which young leader will lead the Bahujans,' Bharti told reporters.
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
Tur dal price crash engineered by Centre, says Surjewala
Bengaluru: Congress national general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala Tuesday said the distress of tur dal farmers in Karnataka is due to the Centre's duty-free import policy that triggered a price crash and accused the BJP-led govt of causing a loss of Rs 1,550 crore to farmers through its flawed minimum support price (MSP) policy. "This price crash is not an accident. It is a direct outcome of Modi govt's policies engineered in Delhi, not a drought in Karnataka," said Surjewala. "This is economic sabotage of farmers of Karnataka and Maharashtra, which together contribute 50% of India's tur dal production. The problem also lies in the Centre announcing MSP but not procuring enough. The ministry of agriculture's own data shows that in 2022-23, India's farmers produced 276.9 lakh tonnes of pulses but the Modi govt purchased only 1.2 lakh tonnes at MSP. This shows that MSP of pulses is a farce." He said in five years since May 2021, the Centre allowed duty-free import of tur dal. The last notification was issued on Jan 20 this year, making import of the pulse duty-free until March 31 next year. He said because of this, cheap and low-quality imports from Myanmar, Tanzania, and Mozambique besides Australia, Africa and Canada have flooded India's markets. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru "In 2022-23, the Modi govt imported 24.9 lakh tonnes of pulses," he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top 7 All-Inclusive Destinations That Accept Credit Card Rewards Liseer Learn More Undo "Imports doubled in 2023-24 to 48.4 lakh tonnes. To add to farmers' distress, 67 lakh tonnes were imported in 2024-25. While Karnataka produces over 3.7 lakh tonnes of premium GI-tagged tur dal, barely 49,000 tonnes were procured at MSP, leaving as much as 3.2 lakh tonnes to be sold below MSP." He accused the Centre of entering into long-term MOUs, guaranteeing farmers in countries like Mozambique that it would import two lakh tonnes every year, while leaving Karnataka's farmers in the lurch. Surjewala said in 2024-25 MSP of tur dal was Rs 7,550 per quintal, but Karnataka's farmers were forced to sell at Rs 6,000 per quintal. He said the Karnataka govt had demanded an MSP of Rs 16,548 per quintal for 2025-26, considering the cost of cultivation — which is Rs 11,032 per quintal — but the Centre has fixed an MSP of Rs 8,000 per quintal.
