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

The executive order suspends 500% tariffs on Russian goods and 100% duties on large buyers of Russian oil and gas a week after Moscow agreed to supply diesel to the US, with gasoline prices up 34% from a year ago.

- Published: 2026-10-17T05:06:38.576Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-17/trump-waives-russia-sanctions-law-s-secondary-tariffs-two-da
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: macro
- Sources: [Kyiv Independent](https://kyivindependent.com/trump-waives-latest-russia-sanctions-amid-growing-ukraine-us-tensions/), [RT](https://rt-english.com/news/647324-trump-waives-graham-sanctions-russia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS), [Financial Times Markets](https://www.ft.com/content/836eddd7-3adc-4cbb-8527-7a0a7a277e50?syn-25a6b1a6=1), [BBC News Hindi](https://www.bbc.com/hindi/articles/cmly0ndwg0q3o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss), [Deutsche Welle](https://www.dw.com/en/trump-puts-new-russia-sanctions-on-hold/a-79685002)

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](https://kyivindependent.com/trump-waives-latest-russia-sanctions-amid-growing-ukraine-us-tensions/). He signed that law himself on September 18. According to [Fox Business](https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trump-waives-many-russian-sanctions-under-new-law-backed-lindsey-graham) and [The Hill](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6155621-trump-waives-russian-sanctions-act-tariffs/), 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."](https://www.dw.com/en/trump-puts-new-russia-sanctions-on-hold/a-79685002) Deutsche Welle and Russian state broadcaster [RT](https://rt-english.com/news/647324-trump-waives-graham-sanctions-russia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS) both led their coverage with that quote.

The [Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/836eddd7-3adc-4cbb-8527-7a0a7a277e50?syn-25a6b1a6=1) ties the reprieve to a deal Washington made with Moscow to release Russian diesel. [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-suspends-new-russia-sanctions-deal-purchase-diesel-citing-nation-rcna603991) 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](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm), and [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/september-cpi-report-inflation-energy-costs/) put the annual rise at 34.2%, less than a month before the November midterm elections.

India gains the most directly. [BBC News Hindi](https://www.bbc.com/hindi/articles/cmly0ndwg0q3o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) 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](https://thewire.in/diplomacy/jaishankar-raises-us-100-pc-tariff-law-rubio). Senator Graham had named India and China, which together buy about [70% of Russian oil, gas and petroleum products](https://www.outlookbusiness.com/amp/story/economy-and-policy/trump-backs-sanctions-bill-that-provides-for-very-high-tariffs-on-india-china-for-buying-russian-oil-us-senator), as the main targets. Indian outlet [The Federal](https://thefederal.com/category/news/donald-trump-waives-graham-act-sanctions-ahead-of-rubio-india-visit-259826) 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](https://kyivindependent.com/trump-waives-latest-russia-sanctions-amid-growing-ukraine-us-tensions/) placed it within what it called "growing Ukraine-US tensions." President Volodymyr Zelensky had already called the diesel deal ["not fair and not honest,"](https://www.axios.com/world/2026/10/09) 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."](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-suspends-new-russia-sanctions-deal-purchase-diesel-citing-nation-rcna603991) Russian state media presented the waiver as proof that the "bone-crushing" sanctions had failed.

## What this means

The secondary-tariff clause was the only part of the law that could raise the cost of buying Russian crude for New Delhi and Beijing. Suspending it before it ever applied tells every buyer that Washington will drop the threat whenever gasoline prices get politically expensive. Russian export revenue, Indian refiners and Chinese importers gain. Ukraine and holders of sanctions-compliance risk premia lose. Markets had partly expected this after the diesel deal. What is new is that the waiver covers the whole statute, which leaves Congress's main lever empty. The 2018 waivers that let eight countries keep buying Iranian oil are the closest precedent: they were extended and then narrowed, but buyers had already learned to treat US energy sanctions as negotiable. The likelier outcome is that Russian barrels keep flowing to Asia at narrowing discounts through the winter, and that buyers rely more on non-dollar settlement because they now expect future US threats to be suspended. This read depends on gasoline staying high into the November elections. It would be proved wrong if Congress passed a veto-proof limit on the waiver authority, or if the Treasury designated a major Indian or Chinese refiner anyway.

## What to watch

- Whether the Senate moves a resolution to limit the president's waiver power. A bipartisan vote would show that the sanctions threat can come back without the White House.
- Russian crude discounts to Brent at Indian ports over the next month. A narrowing discount would show buyers no longer price in any US penalty.
- The outcome of Rubio's India visit, and whether New Delhi gives anything in return, such as energy or defense purchases, for the relief.