# US Congress clears Russia sanctions bill with 100pc tariff power over oil buyers Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/us/us-congress-clears-russia-sanctions-bill-with-100pc-tariff-power-over-oil-buyers) Type: News article Author: Searchable Editorial Published: 18 Sept 2026 Updated: 18 Sept 2026 Retrieved: 18 Sept 2026 > The House passed it 262-159 and Trump says he will sign. China and India are named as targets, and the oil price is what reaches a Pakistani petrol pump. The **US House of Representatives** has passed a sweeping Russia sanctions bill by **262 votes to 159**, after the Senate cleared it last month **86 to 11**. President Trump has said he will sign it, which would give the measure final approval after months of delay. ## What the bill does It targets Russia's energy and defence sectors, imposes sanctions on President Putin and senior officials, and goes after the shadow fleet of tankers Moscow uses to move oil around existing Western sanctions. The part that matters outside Russia is the secondary power: the bill lets the president impose **tariffs of up to 100 percent** on major purchasers of Russian oil and gas. **China and India** are named in the debate as the buyers in question. Democratic opposition focused on the drafting. Critics argued the current text was written to maximise the president's discretion over new import taxes while minimising the sanctions the administration is actually obliged to impose. In other words, the tariff power is mandatory-sounding and discretionary in practice. ## The line that runs to a Pakistani petrol pump Pakistan does not buy Russian crude at any scale. The connection is the global price, and it runs through India. India has been taking a large share of discounted Russian barrels since 2022. If a 100 percent tariff threat pushes Indian refiners off Russian crude, they have to buy the same volume from the Gulf, Africa or the United States instead. That is a large block of demand moving into the same barrels Pakistan competes for, and it pushes Brent up. Pakistan imports essentially all of its crude and refined product, so a higher Brent lands here as a higher ex-refinery price at the next fortnightly review. The opposite case is just as real: if the tariff power is never used, the discounted barrels keep flowing, and nothing changes. ## Where prices stand today Petrol is **Rs 390.79** a litre and high-speed diesel **Rs 424.92** after the latest review, with diesel the one that has been climbing. Diesel is the number that reaches everybody, because it prices freight, buses, tractors and generators, and it feeds straight into food prices within weeks. Brent has been trading near $102 with Gulf supply and the Hormuz disruption already in the price, so the market is not starting from a calm base. A demand shift of the size Indian refiners represent would land on a market that is already tight. ## What to watch The signature is the first step, not the last. The tariffs are a power granted, not a policy announced. Watch for the first executive action naming a country, because that is the point at which the oil market has to reprice rather than speculate. Until then, track what it costs you: our [petrol price page](/data/petrol-price) and [diesel price page](/data/diesel-price) carry every notified change, and the [fuel cost calculator](/tools/cars/fuel-cost-calculator) turns a price per litre into what your monthly commute actually costs. ## Frequently asked questions **Does the US Russia sanctions bill affect Pakistan directly?** Not directly. Pakistan does not buy Russian crude at scale. The effect would come through the global price if a 100 percent tariff threat pushes Indian refiners off discounted Russian barrels and into the same Gulf and African crude Pakistan buys. **What were the vote counts?** The House passed it 262-159 and the Senate passed it 86-11 last month. President Trump has said he will sign it. ## Sources - US Congress passes sweeping Russia sanctions bill (Business Recorder): https://www.brecorder.com/news/40440060/us-congress-passes-sweeping-russia-sanctions-bill How to cite: "US Congress clears Russia sanctions bill with 100pc tariff power over oil buyers", Searchable, 18 Sept 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/us/us-congress-clears-russia-sanctions-bill-with-100pc-tariff-power-over-oil-buyers