The Congress on Saturday said the only way to counter a “bully” is to resist him “forcefully”, after US President Donald Trump signed the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act that seeks to impose steep levies on Moscow and its top energy buyers like China and India.

AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh said this in a post on X after Trump signed the law.

“The only way to counter a bully is to resist him forcefully,” he said.

“On Friday, September 18, 2026, the President signed into law: H.R. 5334, the ‘Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,’ which authorises and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran,” the White House said.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which seeks to impose sanctions on Russia’s leadership and energy sector, as well as on collaborators with Moscow’s defence industry and its so-called “shadow fleet”.

The Act also authorises President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries buying Russian oil and gas, including China and India.

The law gives Trump wide discretion over implementation, including which countries face tariffs, the tariff rates imposed, and whether sanctions provisions are waived.

The law comes into effect within 30 days of signing by the President and requires him to impose duties of up to 100 per cent on goods imported from countries that are the top-five purchasers of Russian crude oil or natural gas.