Congress on Thursday took a dig at the Modi government after the US House of Representatives cleared a bill that would authorise President Donald Trump to impose steep tariffs on Russia's oil and gas trading partners, saying appeasement has never paid and will never pay.
The Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, passed by the US Senate last month, was approved by the House in a 262-159 vote on Wednesday and will now go to Trump to be signed into law.
The bill seeks to impose sanctions not only on Russia's leadership and energy sector, but also on the "shadow fleet" of vessels that enable Moscow to evade sanctions on oil deliveries.
It also seeks to authorise Trump to impose stiff tariffs on China, India and other countries to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas, as well as additional sanctions on Iran.
Reacting to the passage of the bill, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, said on X, “Appeasement has never paid and will never pay.”
Besides 203 Republicans, 58 Democrats and one Independent voted in favour of the legislation. Seven Republicans and 152 Democrats opposed it.
Democratic opposition largely centred around the tariff authorities provided to Trump.
The bill is named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July after spending more than a year building support for it.
“China and India, you better buy your oil and gas somewhere else,” Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters after the passage of the bill.
(With inputs from PTI)
