US Tariff Threat Boosts Case for Crypto Settlement in Russia-China Energy Trade

China has fired back against a US Senate bill that proposes tariffs of up to 100% on oil and gas imports from top buyers of Russian energy, including China itself. The Sanctioning Russia Act targets the five biggest purchasers of Russian oil and gas: China, India, Slovakia, Hungary, and Azerbaijan.

Beijing views the legislation as an 'unlawful unilateral sanction' that lacks UN Security Council approval, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian. He emphasized that China will protect its companies' legitimate rights and interests.

The bill is a scaled-back version of an earlier proposal that floated a blanket 500% tariff on Russian energy imports. However, the US president retains authority to waive tariffs on a case-by-case basis if they're deemed contrary to national interest.

Russia has been increasingly turning to digital assets for oil trade settlements with China and India, using stablecoins like Tether's USDT as practical tools for moving value across borders when traditional banking rails are blocked or threatened. If secondary sanctions start targeting dollar-pegged stablecoins, the door opens for yuan-pegged alternatives or commodity-backed tokens designed specifically for trade settlement.