UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — U.S. Senators vie to levy 100% tariffs on countries buying oil from Russia

Q1. Under the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, the ancillary sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior officials, state-owned enterprises and defence-linked foreign firms are mandated to be imposed within how many days of the bill's enactment?

  • A. 15 days
  • B. 30 days
  • C. 90 days
  • D. 180 days

Q2. Under the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, the authority to actually impose the tariffs and to waive the sanctions under specified conditions is vested in which of the following?

  • A. The President of the United States
  • B. The US Secretary of State
  • C. The US Secretary of the Treasury
  • D. The United States Trade Representative

Q3. The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 targets the top five purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas. Consider the following countries: 1. China 2. Slovakia 3. Türkiye 4. India Which of the above is/are NOT correctly identified as one of the targeted top-five buyers?

  1. China
  2. Slovakia
  3. Türkiye
  4. India
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q4. Among the countries named as the top five purchasers targeted by the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026, which one was the single largest buyer of Russian crude oil through 2025?

  • A. India
  • B. China
  • C. Hungary
  • D. Azerbaijan

Q5. The earlier (2025) version of the Graham-led Russia sanctions bill, before it was scaled back in the 2026 revision, proposed a blanket tariff of what magnitude on countries importing Russian energy?

  • A. 25%
  • B. 100%
  • C. 250%
  • D. 500%

Q6. As of its unveiling in July 2026, the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 is being advanced as a bipartisan bill primarily in which body of the United States Congress?

  • A. The United States Senate
  • B. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee acting alone
  • C. The House of Representatives
  • D. The House Ways and Means Committee acting alone

Q7. The late Senator Lindsey Graham, the chief architect in whose honour the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 is being advanced, represented which US state in the Senate?

  • A. North Carolina
  • B. South Carolina
  • C. Georgia
  • D. Florida

Q8. The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026 is named in honour of Lindsey Graham, who was a member of which US political party?

  • A. The Democratic Party
  • B. The Republican Party
  • C. The Libertarian Party
  • D. An Independent, caucusing with neither party

Q9. US secondary sanctions programmes such as those under CAATSA are primarily administered and enforced by which single body?

  • A. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury
  • B. The Bureau of Industry and Security of the US Commerce Department
  • C. The Office of the US Trade Representative
  • D. The Federal Reserve Board

Q10. When the United States imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods in August 2025 (over and above the 25% reciprocal tariff), what was cited as the primary justification for that additional levy?

  • A. India's continued import of discounted Russian crude oil
  • B. India's trade surplus with the United States
  • C. India's data-localisation and digital-tax measures
  • D. India's agricultural import restrictions