- 28 minutes ago
The US House of Representatives has passed the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, granting President Donald Trump authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on nations purchasing Russian oil and gas. The move directly exposes major buyers like India and China, following the recent BRICS Summit in New Delhi where leaders opposed unilateral coercive measures. Russian crude accounted for 30.3% of India's oil imports in fiscal 2026, making energy security vital for the nation. Simultaneously, rising tensions between Washington and Ottawa have led Canada to explore unprecedented associate membership with the European Union to diversify trade and strategic partnerships beyond North America. Additionally, social media rumours regarding Chinese President Xi Jinping suffering a medical emergency in New Delhi were debunked, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf prepares for its planned march to Islamabad amidst heightened administrative security.
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00:07what happens when bricks challenges washington and trump responds with a tariff weapon and as
00:14india russia and china push for strategic independence could another power be quietly
00:18rewriting its alliances today two stories about the changing rules of global power one where trump
00:26threatens hundred percent tariffs on countries buying russian oil putting india's energy security
00:31and trade interests at risk the other where canada looks towards europe as tensions with washington
00:38grow exploring an unprecedented eu partnership one uses economic pressure to enforce alignment
00:45the other seeks strength through diversification is the world moving away from dependence on one
00:52superpower hello and welcome you're watching statecraft with me gita mohan india's russian
00:58oil imports have come under fresh pressure from washington dc as the u.s moves towards legislation
01:04that could allow steep tariffs on countries buying russian energy for four years indian refiners
01:11have relied on discounted russian crew to manage import costs and maintain supplies
01:16the proposed u.s measures could now affect that very arrangement the u.s house of representatives has
01:23passed legislation allowing president donald trump to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on countries
01:30purchasing russian oil and gas the bill now heads to trump's desk india is among the countries exposed
01:36to these proposed measures russian crude accounted for 30.3 of india's oil imports in fiscal 2026 valued at
01:46nearly 41 billion dollars in july russia supplied more crew to india than the uae saudi arabia venezuela
01:54brazil oman and the united states of america combined new delhi has said it is monitoring developments and
02:01remains focused on maintaining energy security any reduction in russian supplies could require india
02:08indian refiners to source crude from alternative markets that could involve changes in shipping distances
02:15freight charges freight charges insurance costs and procurement prices the impact would depend on
02:22the availability and pricing of replacement supplies the proposed legislation could also have
02:28implications beyond oil imports to understand what this means for india the possible tariff implications
02:34and what options new delhi has we now go across to washington dc with our correspondent rohit sharma
02:41who will give us a detailed assessment of the proposed tariffs and their potential impact on new delhi
02:46rohit thank you so much for joining us uh would the tariffs now really hit indian exports to the u
02:52.s
02:52across board or only specific export categories like refined petroleum products well look you know the uh
02:59the the the bill uh once it's signed and becomes a law it does give president uh a broad power
03:06now
03:06we do have to understand uh that some of these things will obviously be um written uh in in the
03:13order that the president issues it will be it has to be ratified by the white house uh so we'll
03:18have to
03:18wait and watch you know if that's going to cover broad range of categories right and and i think we'll
03:23have
03:23to see uh you know if again if it's used and how it's used uh now the the thing that
03:31we do know for a fact
03:32is that this is targeting countries that purchase energy and oil uh from russia so we'll have to wait and
03:40see if the president actually decides to enact on it and if it does then what categories would he you
03:47know want to
03:48target uh so it could be easily you know be carved out uh for certain categories or it could be
03:55a broad range
03:56of products that could be uh tariffed under this new power that the president of united states will have
04:02or so we'll have to wait and watch uh i think it's it's one of those uh known unknown as
04:08this at this point in time
04:09right uh rohit now when it comes to the deal itself will the u.s now have more leverage over
04:16india when it comes to the trade deal
04:18look that's the fear everybody has uh in the sense that you know how would this new um law
04:27now come into play when it comes to negotiating a trade deal and as far as we've reported extensively
04:33on this uh that uh the section 302 tranche 2 findings essentially would have allowed india to understand
04:42you know how much what type number is the u.s proposing uh according to second sorry according
04:48to minister goyal and he he said it that you know like india also wants to understand uh what kind
04:55of tariffs are going to be put on the countries and neighboring countries and probably should say
05:00competing countries and india would obviously want to negotiate a number less than that and that was the
05:04understanding until this law is passed so i'm assuming that there is going to be a sense of uneasiness also
05:10knowing that you can negotiate something uh you know with uh with the u.s and then six months down
05:18you know you could probably be hit by hundred percent tariffs if things go south in the russia ukraine
05:23war so those things will be hashed out will be discussed in detail uh so this does introduce a new
05:29variable now i have to also remind everybody that you know we've come a long way since the punitive
05:35tariffs uh in september of last year in fact uh so the two sides have been readily you know involved
05:42and
05:42have engaged and have discussed and have we have seen multiple meetings and engagement across in different
05:52sectors and at different levels so we'll have to wait and watch you know how these things go but yes
06:00it
06:00does give that one um you know sense of look if if things don't improve in that war we could
06:09be held
06:10responsible and we could be hit by tariff and it's happened in the past so we'll have to wait and
06:15see if
06:16this actually happens and if it does then what options does that leave india with roi charma thank you so
06:23much for joining us bricks challenges washington trump fires back with the tariff weapon just days
06:30after prime minister narendra modi hosted president vladimir putin and xi jinping in new delhi donald trump
06:36got his own bricks takeaway not a diplomatic handshake not a peace proposal a sanctions bill with a hundred
06:44percent tariff threat at the summit modi putin and she projected a united global south while washington
06:51watched three major powers share the stage and reject unilateral sanctions then on 16th of september
06:57the u.s house passed legislation that gives trump sweeping powers to punish countries buying russian
07:03oil and gas india and china sit right in the crosshairs trump has called bricks an attack on the dollar
07:11so was this bill simply about russia or did the bricks photo op give washington another excuse
07:17to reach for its favorite weapon tariffs the timing tells its own story from september 10th to the 13th
07:25new delhi hosted the brick summit bringing modi putin she and iran's president together the message was hard
07:32to miss the global south wanted more influence and less dependence on western pressure the summit
07:39declaration criticized unilateral course of measures and sanctions without u.n security council authorization
07:46it did not name the u.s but the target hardly needed a name tag three days later washington delivered
07:53its
07:54own response to the brics nations on september 16th the u.s house passed the linseo grant sanctioning
08:00russia and iran act of 2026 by 262 votes to 159 after the senate approved it in august by 86
08:09to 11.
08:10the bill now goes to president trump brics brought the optics congress brought the paperwork and trump
08:17got a bigger tariff button so what exactly does this bill put on the table the power to impose tariffs
08:24of
08:24up to 100 percent on countries that washington identifies as major consumers of russian oil and gas india and china
08:32are explicitly exposed the legislation also targets russia's energy and defense sectors putin and
08:39senior officials and moscow's shadow fleet of tankers iran faces expanded sanctions as well
08:47countries would normally have 180 days to reduce russian energy imports or negotiate with washington
08:53but trump can shorten that deadline yes the president gets discretion and yes that discretion is the
09:02point why settle for a normal negotiating position when you can arrive with a tariff threat large enough
09:08to frighten an entire trade ministry but is this really an economic firewall designed to cut russia
09:15off or is it a bargaining chip dressed up as punishment the legislation allows trump to pressure
09:22countries into changing their energy decisions without automatically severing every trade relationship
09:29india and china could face a choice reduce russian purchases negotiate with washington or risk
09:36devastating tariffs that matters because india and the u.s already face sensitive trade negotiations
09:42the tariff threat could become a tool to extract economic concessions in other words washington may
09:49not need to close the door it may simply charge an outrageous entry fee now comes the legal confrontation
09:58where does international law end and unilateral economic coercion begin india's position is clear only u.n
10:04security council sanctions carry binding multilateral authority sanctions imposed independently
10:11by the united states of america or the eu or any other country do not create obligations for india
10:17under international law new delhi reserves the right to act in its national interest briggs declaration
10:25backs that argument opposing sanctions not authorized by the u.n security council washington takes a
10:32different route it does not need india to accept its sanctions as international law it can use access to
10:38american market as leverage that is the catch a country may reject the legal authority of unilateral
10:46sanctions and still face serious economic consequences from unilateral tariffs international law and economic
10:53power do not always sit at the same table so where does india's quad partnership fit into this between
11:00strategic partnership and the very unglamorous business of paying the energy bill india imports more
11:07than 88 percent of its crude oil and russian supplies accounted for 30.3 percent of its crude imports in
11:14fiscal year 2026 in july russia supplied more than half of india's crude imports this is not a small purchase
11:22that delhi can cancel with a polite email it affects energy security for 1.4 billion people india's
11:30its energy sourcing follows national interest market dynamics and affordability not a desire to finance
11:37war jay shankar has made the argument before in 2022 he told critics to focus on europe saying india's
11:45monthly russian oil purchases were less than what europe bought in an afternoon in cave this month he added
11:53that wars and through dialogue and diplomacy not simply by buying or refusing to buy oil india's strategic partnerships
12:01matter so does keeping its economy supplied you know the reason for your question i get that but i think
12:11it's also
12:12important that all of you get the challenges of providing for energy for 1.4 billion people
12:20at a time when the world energy situation is very very difficult so uh i would say i mean this
12:30is uh
12:30uh something where uh clearly the ukraine side has its perspective which we respect and we have ours which i
12:39would expect
12:40others to also respect but let me just add this you know this conflict which is today in its fifth
12:47year
12:48will not be solved because somebody is buying or not buying oil or alumina or minerals or metals or
12:56fertilizer this conflict will be solved by dialogue by diplomacy by negotiation and that is why
13:03it is something we would encourage and then comes the global oil problem if india and china are forced out
13:10of russian trade does the world become safer or just more expensive china accounted for half of russia's
13:18crude exports between december 2022 and august 2026 while india accounted for 37 percent removing major buyers
13:27dollars could disrupt global flows and increase crude freight and insurance costs india can find
13:34alternative suppliers but replacing russian oil at scale would come at a price the irony is hard to
13:41ignore a measure intended to pressure russia could also squeeze international energy markets india's
13:48refiners already face higher costs while the middle east or west asia conflict has reduced supplies
13:54cutting another major source could push prices higher punishing the buyer does not magically create
14:01more barrels there's another consequence washington may want to consider could aggressive tariff threats
14:08accelerate the very financial architecture bricks seeks to develop president trump has repeatedly called
14:15bricks an attack on the dollar but if major economies face punishment for independent energy and trade
14:22choices they may have stronger reasons to explore alternative settlement mechanisms and trade networks outside
14:29washington's reach that does not guarantee a new financial order and bricks members do not share identical
14:37interests but pressure can produce unintended results try forcing countries to depend on your system
14:44while threatening to punish them for using it that is not exactly a master class in trust building
14:51for india the calculation is straightforward russian oil offers energy security while u.s tariffs threaten
14:58exports trade negotiations and bilateral ties new delhi says it will protect its trade and economic
15:05interests and continue sourcing supplies based on market dynamics the bill gives trump the weapon whether he uses it to
15:14impose tariffs negotiate concessions or hold the threat over india and china remains his decision
15:21but one thing is clear washington may want to discipline bricks it could instead push its members to build more
15:27ways
15:28around washington trump wanted a stronger lever he may also strengthen the case for finding a different toolbox
15:36canada may be about to do something that sounds almost impossible change continents without moving an inch canada is now
15:45being
15:45being offered a new kind of relationship with the european union the first ever associate membership of the bloc
15:52and the timing is impossible to ignore because as donald trump has pushed canada harder ottawa has been looking
15:59harder for friends elsewhere europe is opening the door and canada is walking towards it european commission
16:06president ursula von der lyon announced the proposal during her state of the union address canadian prime minister mark carney
16:14was sitting in the audience the idea is to create a new status for canada deeper than any ordinary
16:21partnership but short of full eu membership exactly what that status would mean is still being negotiated
16:28by both sides i would like to work with you on opening the door for canada to being the first
16:37associate
16:38member of the european union think about the symbolism canada is geographically north american but
16:46strategically auto is increasingly looking towards europe and the reason is simple canada no longer
16:53wants all its eggs in the american basket around 70 percent of canadian exports currently go to the us
16:59that economic dependence has become a major vulnerability as trade tensions with washington have
17:05intensified carney has responded by pushing canada to diversify its economic and strategic partnerships
17:11and this is where donald trump enters the picture because the closer washington has pushed canada the
17:18harder ottawa has pushed back trump has imposed tariffs he has threatened canada with further economic
17:25pressure and his rhetoric about canada becoming part of the u.s has added another layer to an already tense
17:32relationship so what does canada do it looks across the atlantic now i think it's laughable look uh the whole
17:40thing with canada canada has been a terrible trade partner and uh no i don't see that and if they
17:47do
17:47that if i think it's an all a hostile act i will put very serious tariffs or stop trading with
17:53europe
17:54on many things so if they do that if europe does that with a bad intention if it's a good
18:00intention that's
18:01fine if it's a bad intention we'll put very heavy tariffs on europe carney has already ruled out full
18:08eu membership instead he has called for a unique alliance with europe the objective is to deepen
18:14cooperation in areas such as defense energy artificial intelligence critical minerals and investment and
18:21this is not coming out of nowhere carney has been preparing the ground for this strategy for months at
18:28davos he argued that middle powers cannot afford to depend on great powers canada has already moved
18:34significantly closer to europe it became the first non-european country to join the eu's safe defense
18:40procurement program giving canadian companies access to european joint defense procurement ottawa and
18:47brussels are also deepening cooperation on trade energy technology and critical minerals but here's the
18:55bigger question is canada really becoming european of course not geography does not change because of a
19:02diplomatic agreement canada will remain next door to the united states of america for all times to come
19:08american markets will remain critical to the canadian economy and washington will remain canada's most
19:15important neighbor what is changing is something else canada is trying to make sure that america is no
19:23longer its only strategic option that is the logic behind the european pivot if canada can build stronger
19:30links with europe it can diversify trade strengthen defense cooperation and create more room to maneuver
19:37when dealing with washington but there is a catch because europe cannot simply replace america canada and
19:45the eu are separated by an ocean their economies are already deeply connected through existing trade
19:51agreements but expanding that relationship will take time and deeper alignment with european rules could
19:58create new complications for canadian businesses particularly when canada still depends heavily on the us market
20:07there's another problem the eu itself has never had an associate member like this the status does not
20:14currently exist in the bloc's treaties creating it could require agreement among all 27 eu member states
20:21and potentially significant legal changes so this is not canada joining europe it is canada trying to build
20:29a new bridge to europe and that distinction matters because canada does not want to surrender sovereignty
20:36to brussels in fact carney's argument is the opposite he believes deeper partnerships can actually give middle
20:43powers more independence by reducing their dependence on any single great power that idea was central to
20:51carney's davos speech he argued that when middle powers negotiate alone with the dominant power they negotiate
20:58from weakness his answer was cooperation creating enough collective economic and strategic weight to have more
21:06choices but canada must be careful europe is not the only direction ottawa should be looking the indo-pacific is
21:14also
21:14crucial to canada's future with major economic and strategic relationships involving countries such as japan south korea and
21:22australia canada therefore cannot afford to replace one dependency with another because the real objective is not to
21:30choose europe over america it is to have enough options that canada does not have to choose
21:37at all canada is trying to turn itself from a country heavily dependent on one superpower
21:42into a middle power with multiple strategic anchors and europe sees an opportunity too
21:49canada brings energy resources critical minerals technology defense capabilities and a close relationship
21:56with the us for europe strengthening ties with ottawa could mean building another major democratic partner
22:03outside the block but there is one final question will this actually work the eu has to agree on what
22:11associate membership means canada has to decide how much regulatory alignment it is willing to accept
22:18businesses have to deal with the consequences and ottawa still has to manage its enormous economic
22:24relationship with washington dc so this is not a done deal it is the beginning of a geopolitical experiment
22:32but the message from ottawa is already clear canada believes the old world where geography
22:37automatically guaranteed security and prosperity is disappearing canada cannot change its continent
22:44but it can change its alliances and if brussels and ottawa managed to turn this unprecedented proposal
22:52into a real partnership canada could become eu's first associate member not because it stopped being north
22:59american but because being north american is no longer enough for the strategic future it wants
23:07a sensational claim of our chinese president xi jinping's health is spreading online but here's one big
23:13problem there is no credible evidence to back it a chinese dissident wang jun shir claimed on x that
23:21she fainted during the bricks summit in new delhi and later suffered a severe stroke now the post went
23:28even further claiming she was flown back to beijing for emergency treatment at the pla general hospital
23:34better known as 301 hospital but so far no official source in beijing or new delhi has confirmed any such
23:41incident in fact the claim has been flagged by the x community note for being inconsistent with available facts
23:49she was in new delhi on the 12th of september for the brick summit he met prime minister narendra modi
23:55on the sidelines of the summit with border peace and trade among the key issues discussed president
24:00she also attended the summit before skipping the gala dinner hosted by prime minister modi at bharat mandapam
24:07that absence may have fueled speculation online but it is not evidence of a medical emergency
24:13wang jun shi is the chairman of the banned china democracy party and is based in the united states
24:19of america according to available inputs meanwhile there is a confirmed case of a bricks leader stepping
24:26back from public engagements over health concerns south african president cyril ramaphosa was advised by
24:32his medical team to temporarily step away from public engagements there is no official confirmation of a
24:40stroke a hospitalization or any emergency evacuation from china or india but when it comes to the health
24:47of china's most powerful leader rumor can travel fast but facts need to travel faster pakistan's
24:55september 27th showdown is already raising security concerns pakistan tahrike insaf or pti is preparing for
25:02a long march to islamabad but a video now circulating online has triggered fresh questions over how the protest
25:09could really unfold the identities of those shown and the location of the video have not been independently
25:16verified local administrations of twin cities have started impounding shipping containers and making
25:22other security arrangements to cope with the pakistan tahrike insaf there are also claims that between
25:28two thousand and three thousand pti workers could reach islamabad ahead of september 27th with camps
25:35reportedly set up in parts of khyber pakhtunkhwa near punjab pti has rejected the allegations as
25:41fabricated and khyber pakhtunkhwa chief minister sohail afridi has distanced the party from the video
25:48however pti leaders insist september 27th protest will remain peaceful and within the constitution and law
25:55but with the march now days away the big question is whether those assurances will hold in the streets of
26:02islamabad that's all in this edition of statecraft before we go a san diego family got an unexpected
26:09lesson in canine hospitality when a stranger broke into their home and their golden retriever decided he
26:16had found a new playmate four-year-old nash repeatedly approached the intruder with toys seemingly inviting
26:24him to play instead of raising the alarm the man reportedly helped himself to food took a nap and
26:30later tried to escape before police arrested him but nash didn't stop there when police arrived he
26:37wanted to play with them too take a look at the visuals goodbye and take care
26:42and take care of the
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