Trump Waives New Russia Sanctions and Tariffs Days Before They Were to Begin

President Trump on Friday signed an executive order waiving most of the Russia sanctions and tariffs in a law he signed only last month, two days before the heaviest penalties were scheduled to take effect, according to CBS News, Fox Business and Bloomberg.

The law, named for the late Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who championed it before his death, was written to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine by going after the countries that keep its economy running. Among other things, it called for tariffs of up to 100 percent on goods from the largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas, and for far steeper duties on Russian goods themselves. The law names no countries, but the law firm King & Spalding wrote that historic trade data suggest China, India and Turkey would qualify. Those tariffs were due to begin on Sunday.

The statute allows the president to set its penalties aside if he certifies to Congress that doing so is in the national interests of the United States. Trump said he had sent that certification. The order does not undo Russia sanctions imposed under earlier executive orders, Fox Business reported, and it directs officials to keep watching countries that buy Russian energy or evade sanctions, leaving open the possibility of further action.

Beyond the national-interest certification, White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said enforcing the sanctions now would impede ongoing American efforts to negotiate a durable and comprehensive peace between Russia and Ukraine, though the administration did not detail its reasoning further. Bloomberg reported that the new penalties had complicated the president’s effort to lower diesel prices before the November midterm elections, and Fox Business noted that Republicans have pressed him to bring down costs before voters go to the polls. Oil prices have stayed high since the war with Iran began in late February, and diesel, which moves freight and farm equipment, has risen especially fast.

The waiver follows a deal the president struck with Russian President Vladimir Putin a week earlier, under which Moscow agreed to release millions of tons of diesel into the global market in exchange for sanctions relief, according to Fox Business and CBS News. Earlier this week a bipartisan group of senators urged Trump to reverse the diesel arrangement and to enforce the new law, calling the diesel waivers a betrayal of the people of Ukraine, CBS News reported.

The administration’s strongest argument is about prices. Tariffs on those countries would ripple through supply chains that American consumers depend on, and more Russian fuel on the world market could ease costs at the pump for truckers, farmers and families already squeezed by the war with Iran.

The decision also lands amid open tension between Washington and Kyiv. In recent days Trump has warned Ukraine to stop striking Russian oil refineries, and Fox Business reported that he said last week it was time for Ukraine to get a new president. European leaders meeting in Brussels this week discussed how to fill a gap in funding for Ukraine, Euronews reported.

Supporters of the law in Congress had argued that pressure on Russia’s customers was the most effective remaining lever to push Moscow toward peace. With the waiver in place, that lever now sits unused, at the president’s discretion, until the administration decides that further action is appropriate.