India's Russian Oil Imports Set to Continue as the US Waives Its New Sanctions Law: Tankers, Price Caps and Sanctions Explained
On 16 October 2026, the US President issued an executive order waiving (setting aside) the sanctions, restrictions and duties under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, citing the US national interest. He sent a certification to the US Congress, as the law requires.
The Act was passed by Congress on 16 September 2026 and signed on 18 September 2026. It authorised tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil and gas (India and China among them), tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods, and sanctions on Russia's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers.
The waiver means Indian refiners can keep buying Russian crude without immediate US penalties. Russia supplied roughly 1.7 to 1.8 million barrels per day to India in September 2026, about one-third of India's total crude imports, as per ship-tracking estimates.
Russian crude matters even more now because supplies from West Asia have been disrupted by the conflict involving Iran. Most Indian refineries are built to process medium sour crude (somewhat heavy oil with more sulphur), which mainly comes from West Asia and Russia.
The waiver has no fixed end date and only suspends the measures. It can be withdrawn later, so the law remains a tool that the US can use again.
Shadow Fleet: How Sanctioned Oil Moves at Sea
A shadow fleet (also called a "dark fleet") is a group of oil tankers used to carry oil from countries under sanctions, such as Russia, Iran and Venezuela, while hiding or blurring who owns them, where they go and what they carry. These ships usually avoid Western insurance, Western owners and Western rules, so that sanctions cannot easily reach them. Many are old, poorly maintained and registered in small countries with weak oversight.
The new US law allowed sanctions on Russia's shadow fleet of tankers, which carry much of the Russian crude that reaches India. By waiving the law, the US has removed this immediate risk to the ships and buyers involved, so Russian crude can keep flowing to Indian refineries for now.
G7 Price Cap on Russian Oil: Mechanism and Objectives
The G7 price cap is a rule set by the Group of Seven (G7) countries, the European Union and Australia. It says their companies can help ship, insure or finance Russian oil going to other countries only if that oil is sold at or below a fixed maximum price. The idea is to let Russian oil keep reaching world markets, so that global prices do not jump, while cutting the money Russia earns from it.
The price cap and the shadow fleet are the two sides of the West's effort to cut Russia's oil income, and India sits in the middle as a major buyer. The new US law tried to add a third tool, punishing the biggest buyers with tariffs. The waiver means only the older tools, the price cap and sanctions on ships, still shape how Russian oil reaches India.
Economic Sanctions: Primary vs Secondary Sanctions
Economic sanctions are penalties a country or group places on another country, its companies or people to force a change in behaviour. Primary sanctions stop a country's own citizens and firms from dealing with the target. Secondary sanctions go further: they punish third countries or foreign firms that keep doing business with the target. The US law in this news is a clear example of secondary pressure, aimed at buyers of Russian oil.
The waiver turns off the secondary-sanctions threat for now, so Indian imports of Russian crude can continue. But because it is only a suspension, the threat can return whenever the US decides.
- Law: Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026; passed by Congress 16 September 2026, signed 18 September 2026
- Section 113: tariffs on countries buying Russian crude or gas or helping evade sanctions; Section 115: national-interest waiver
- Tariff authority: up to 100% on goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude and gas; up to 500% on Russian goods
- Waiver: executive order of 16 October 2026; no fixed end date; can be reversed
- India's Russian crude imports in September 2026: about 1.74 to 1.82 million barrels per day (ship-tracking estimates), roughly one-third of total crude imports of about 5.3 million barrels per day
- India is the second-largest buyer of Russian crude, after China
- G7 price cap: $60 (December 2022); EU/UK cap $47.60 (September 2025) and $44.10 (February 2026)