President Donald Trump has waived most of the sweeping new Russia sanctions and tariffs that Congress passed last month, signing an executive order on Friday that shelves the measures a day before they were due to take effect.
The legislation — the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, named for its late Senate backer — would have imposed tariffs of up to 100 per cent on goods imported from the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil and gas, alongside sanctions on Russian officials, banks and the so-called shadow fleet of tankers. In his order, Mr Trump certified to Congress that issuing the waiver was in the national interests of the United States.
What was switched off
The waived provisions covered both trade and financial tools: duties on Russian goods, penalties for countries knowingly buying Russian-origin crude or gas on or after 18 October, and restrictions aimed at President Vladimir Putin, senior officials and institutions accused of helping Moscow evade sanctions. Sanctions imposed under earlier executive orders remain in force, so the decision does not unwind the existing American sanctions regime.
The order instructs the US trade representative, working with the secretaries of state, the Treasury and energy, to track which countries buy Russian crude and gas, watch for evasion and report back on whether the waivers should be changed.
Why now
The move lands as Mr Trump has warmed publicly towards Moscow while criticising Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, including suggesting that Kyiv needs a new leader, according to Reuters’ account of the waiver. Analysts noted the timing: with midterm elections weeks away and fuel costs already climbing on the back of the Iran war, fresh duties risked pushing oil — which touched $110 a barrel this week — higher still.
The waiver stands until Mr Trump or his top officials decide “further action is appropriate”. For big importers of Russian energy, the immediate result is simple: while it lasts, no new duties will be collected and no new sanctions applied. It also lands in a crowded week for American power projection, from the Army’s sweeping Apache helicopter inspection programme to Islamabad’s imposition of emergency rule in a restive province.
