Toggle open close The Issue On August 2, 2017, President Donald Trump signed the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) into law. The act provides for secondary sanctions on entities conducting particular types of transactions with Iran, Russia, and North Korea. CAATSA’s segment on Russia orders the U.S. President to impose “five or more” sanctions on any entity engaged in a “significant transaction” with the intelligence or defense sectors of the Russian government. The act was passed in the wake of widespread allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Biden Administration will soon have to determine whether to impose CAATSA sanctions on India or waive them. The Indian government purchased the S-400 air defense system from Russia in 2016 and is expected to take delivery in 2021. India is a vital partner for the U.S. in the Indo–Pacific, and a co-member (along with Australia and Japan) of the “Quad,” with strategic and defense ties between India and the U.S. reaching new heights in recent years.