The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) is a United States federal law (Public Law 115-44) that imposes economic sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. The law was signed by President Donald Trump on August 2, 2017, after passing Congress with veto-proof majorities. Its creation was a response to perceived aggressions, including Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 US elections, its 2014 annexation of Crimea, Iran's missile program, and North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program. A key purpose was to codify existing sanctions into statute, restricting the President's ability to lift them unilaterally without Congressional review.
CAATSA is structured into three titles, with Title I addressing Iran, Title II addressing Russia, and Title III addressing North Korea. The core mechanism affecting India is the use of secondary sanctions, particularly under Section 231 of Title II. This provision mandates the President to impose sanctions on any non-U.S. person or entity that engages in a "significant transaction" with the defense or intelligence sectors of the Russian government. Sanctions can include the denial of bank financing, prohibition of property acquisition subject to U.S. jurisdiction, and procurement sanctions.
For India, CAATSA is most relevant due to its US$5.43 billion deal with Russia in October 2018 to procure the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile defense system. The law connects to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which administers the sanctions. In a recent development, the US House of Representatives approved a legislative amendment on July 14, 2022, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), that would grant India a waiver from CAATSA sanctions related to the S-400 purchase, though this amendment has yet to be passed by the Senate.