western markets after the invasion of Ukraine, has flowed instead to Indian refineries, often at attractive discounts. The arrangement has lowered the cost of one of India's biggest imports and given its refiners an abundant source of crude. Now that bargain is becoming a source of geopolitical risk. The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation giving President Donald Trump broad powers to impose sanctions on Russia and tariffs of up to 100% on countries that buy Russian oil and gas. It will now go to Trump to be signed into law. India and China are among those most exposed because both are major buyers of Russian oil. China accounted for half of Russia's crude exports, followed by India at 37%, Turkey at 5% and the EU at 5% between December 2022 and August 2026, according to the think-tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). Russia supplied 30.3% of India's crude imports in fiscal 2026, worth $40.8bn out of a total crude import bill of $134.7bn, according to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), a Delhi-based think tank. In July, Russian crude accounted for more than half of India's imports. Other suppliers lagged far behind: the UAE accounted for 10.8% of India's July imports, Saudi Arabia 9.6%, Venezuela 6.3%, Brazil 5.5%, Oman 5.3% and the US 2.9%. Russia alone supplied more crude than all six combined. "The bill is a blunt and dangerous attempt to pressurize India to sign the bilateral trade agreement on one-sided terms. India buys Russian oil to secure affordable energy for 1.4 billion people, not to finance war, and these purchases have helped stabilize global supplies and prices”, says Ajay Srivastava, a former Indian trade official who runs GTRI. (BBC)