Trump Waives New Russia Sanctions Hours Before They Were Set to Take Effect

President Trump blocked the centerpiece of a Russia sanctions law he signed last month, issuing the waiver on Friday night, two days before the measures were to start. The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, named for the late South Carolina senator who died in July, was signed in mid-September. It was written to raise pressure on Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine. Among its tools: tariffs of up to 100 percent on goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas — a category that includes China and India — and on countries that knowingly buy Russian energy or help evade sanctions; duties of up to 500 percent on Russian goods; and sanctions on senior Russian figures, financial institutions, and the shadow fleet. The law gave the president authority to waive portions if he certified to Congress that doing so was in the national interest of the United States. On Friday, October 16, Trump issued an executive order doing exactly that. “I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions and duties provided for in the Graham Act,” the order said. He submitted the required certification. The waiver covers duties under the relevant sections and certain sanctions and restrictions on foreign persons. It remains in effect until Trump or his top officials determine that “further action is appropriate.” The order did not spell out a further reason. Existing U.S. sanctions imposed under earlier authorities are unaffected. What the Waiver Removes and What It Leaves The immediate practical effect is that the 100 percent tariffs on the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas do not start on Sunday, and the 500 percent tariffs on Russian goods do not start either. India and China had raised concerns about the bill. The waiver removes the near-term threat of those duties. It also suspends the new sanctions on Russian officials, oligarchs, banks, and the shadow fleet that the Act would have layered on. It does not repeal the law. It pauses the new measures the law authorized, using the pause the law itself allowed. The timing is the point of the headlines. A president who signed a sanctions bill in September waived its main operative parts in October, before they bound anyone. Congressional notification was the procedural requirement. Backlash from lawmakers who backed the bill was the political one. Senator Elizabeth Warren called the waiver an “abject and predictable failure in leadership.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was unfortunate the United States had decided to “completely disregard” the sanctions. Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev called it “an important and truly historic moment.” The Context Around the Order The waiver arrives as Trump has pursued energy purchases from Russia and as relations with Kyiv have frayed. On October 9 he announced a diesel agreement with Moscow after a call with Putin. By October 17 he said Russia would supply more than 300,000 tonnes. Reuters noted that new sanctions could have raised oil prices before the midterms. The national-interest certification does not itemize that calculation. The sequence — a diesel deal, then a waiver of the law that would have penalized buyers of Russian energy — is the sequence critics are reading as the reason. Trump has also publicly criticized Zelensky and suggested Ukraine needs new leadership, while European allies have voiced alarm at the shift. The Graham Act was a bipartisan instrument aimed at the revenue that funds the war. Waiving it before it starts converts that instrument into an option the president is not exercising. Supporters of the waiver can argue the certification power exists precisely so a president can judge timing against other interests, including energy prices and negotiations. Opponents argue a law signed weeks ago should not be suspended by the same hand before its first deadline. What Congress Can and Cannot Do Quickly The Act requires certification, not approval. Congress was notified. Overturning an executive waiver of this kind is not a same-week vote. Lawmakers who want the tariffs and sanctions in force would need new legislation, a veto-proof majority, or a change in the administration’s determination. None of those is immediate. The waiver’s duration is open-ended: it lasts until the administration says further action is appropriate. That is a policy choice with no built-in sunset in the order itself. India and China are the largest practical beneficiaries of the tariff pause. European buyers of Russian gas have already cut volumes sharply; the 100 percent tariff threat was aimed more at Asian crude importers. The shadow-fleet and bank sanctions that were waived would have been felt in Moscow’s logistics. Their suspension leaves those channels as they were under prior rules. What to Watch Whether the administration issues any further determination that “further action is appropriate,” which would end the waiver. Congressional response beyond statements, including any bill to limit the waiver power. The diesel deliveries Trump described, and their effect on U.S. fuel prices. Zelensky’s next public comment, and any European measure adopted in response. Whether the midterm calendar is cited more explicitly in later explanations of the national-interest finding. Trump waived key new Russia sanctions and tariffs on Friday night, hours before they were set to take effect under a law he signed in September. The order cites the national interest, covers the 100 percent tariffs on major Russian-energy buyers and other new measures, and stays in place until the administration decides otherwise. Existing sanctions remain. The law is intact. Its new teeth are not, for now, in use. Digital8Hub will update if the waiver is narrowed or if Congress moves to restore the measures.