'Closely following': India on US bill seeking 100% tariffs on India, others

New Delhi, Jul 17 (PTI) India on Friday said it is closely following the developments relating to a proposed US legislation seeking to impose up to 100 per cent tariffs on India, China and a few other nations that purchase Russian crude oil. The bill was conceived by Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal and late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. Around 60 US Senators are reportedly backing the bill. “We are closely following these developments, and we are aware of the proposed legislation,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his regular media briefing. “As far as buying oil is concerned, we buy oil from various countries in the world. It is based on our approach towards energy sourcing,” he said, responding to a question. The bill is designed to deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin of revenue used to finance the war against Ukraine by imposing mandatory sanctions on Russia's political leadership, financial institutions and energy sector. Blumenthal said on Tuesday that the proposed legislation was aimed at imposing 100 per cent tariffs on five major purchasers of Russian oil – China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan. PTI MPB ARI