Trump waives Russia sanctions law's secondary tariffs two days before they take effect, sparing India and China

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that waives the main provisions of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. He signed that law himself on September 18. According to Fox Business and The Hill, the order suspends 500% tariffs on imports from Russia and 100% duties on the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas. Both measures were due to take effect on Sunday. Trump wrote that the waiver "is in the national interests of the United States." Deutsche Welle and Russian state broadcaster RT both led their coverage with that quote.

The Financial Times ties the reprieve to a deal Washington made with Moscow to release Russian diesel. NBC News reports that the agreement lets Russia sell diesel to the US and on world markets, starting with 300,000 tons. The domestic pressure behind the move shows up in the data: the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said gasoline prices rose 9.1% in September alone, and CBS News put the annual rise at 34.2%, less than a month before the November midterm elections.

India gains the most directly. BBC News Hindi called the decision "a big relief for India just before the deadline" and noted that opposition to it may grow in the US. The law required tariffs of up to 100% on all goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude or gas. Senator Graham had named India and China, which together buy about 70% of Russian oil, gas and petroleum products, as the main targets. Indian outlet The Federal reported that the waiver comes just before Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits India.

Kyiv and members of Congress criticized the waiver. The Kyiv Independent placed it within what it called "growing Ukraine-US tensions." President Volodymyr Zelensky had already called the diesel deal "not fair and not honest," and Trump has blamed Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries for the rise in diesel prices. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a co-sponsor of the law, called the waiver a "craven, cowardly action." Russian state media presented the waiver as proof that the "bone-crushing" sanctions had failed.