Any country doing business with Russia will be ‘very severely’ sanctioned: Trump

US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to the world: any nation that continues to do business with Russia will face “very severely sanctioned” consequences. His remarks, delivered on Sunday, come as the administration and Republican lawmakers surge ahead with some of the toughest legislation yet aimed at isolating Moscow and its president, Vladimir Putin.

Responding to questions on whether Congress should move forward with new measures against Russia, Trump signalled his full approval. “I hear they’re doing that, and that’s okay with me,” he said, adding that Republicans were crafting legislation featuring “very tough sanctioning” on any country maintaining economic ties with Moscow. With characteristic bluntness, he noted that Iran, too, might be folded into this expanding punitive framework. “I suggested it,” he said. “So any country that does business with Russia will be very severely sanctioned. We may add Iran to the formula.”

The United States has already directed steep economic firepower outward: the administration has imposed tariffs of up to 50 per cent on India — among the highest levies globally — including a 25 per cent duty on its purchases of Russian energy.

Meanwhile, Capitol Hill is preparing its own hard-hitting instruments. A bill tabled by Senator Lindsey Graham proposes a staggering 500 per cent tariff on secondary purchases and reselling of Russian oil, a move that has swiftly gathered near-unanimous support within the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Graham, along with Senator Richard Blumenthal, has also unveiled the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which would slap secondary sanctions and tariffs on countries “that continue to fund Putin’s barbaric war in Ukraine.” The legislation commands an imposing 85 Senate cosponsors.

In a joint statement in July, Graham and Blumenthal praised the administration’s efforts while laying out their rationale with dramatic flair. “President Trump and his team have made a powerful move, implementing a new approach to end this bloodbath between Russia and Ukraine,” they declared.

“However, the ultimate hammer to end this war will be tariffs against countries, like China, India, and Brazil, that prop up Putin’s war machine by purchasing cheap Russian oil and gas.”

Together, the administration and Congress appear poised to tighten the economic vise further, signalling a new phase in Washington’s attempt to curtail Russia’s influence — one that could reshape global energy flows and diplomatic alignments in the months ahead.

With PTI inputs