Trump suspends Russia oil tariffs for 60 days as Brent crude nears $110

On October 16, President Donald Trump waived key provisions of the Graham Act. That law authorized punitive tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil, and the waiver gives relief to India. The executive order used the law's national-interest exemption to suspend duties of up to 100% on imports from major buyers of Russian crude and gas, along with most of its other sanctions. The penalties were due to take effect within days. China, the other large buyer, also benefits.

Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, spoke before leaving for Uzbekistan and India. He described the order as a "60-day pause". "I think the President wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the U.S. economy," he said. Rubio also denied that Washington had ordered limits on Ukrainian use of Starlink. Ukrainian outlets reported the denial as a dispute over facts, while Russian state media presented it as a rebuke of President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The waiver follows a deal Trump announced on October 9. Under it, Moscow agreed to supply more than 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately, 500,000 tonnes in November and 1 million tonnes after that, and the Treasury issued a temporary general license through April 7. Al Jazeera reported that the arrangement has opened a new rift with Europe over Ukraine. The US midterm elections are on November 3.

Moscow presented the move as proof that its oil is in demand. Alexander Novak, Russia's deputy prime minister, said the first tanker of crude from the Vostok Oil project has been loaded and that "many countries want to buy Russian oil."

The waiver did not lower oil prices. Brent crude settled 3.7% higher at $109.86 on Friday, which MercoPress said was its highest close since May. The outlet attributed the increase to fears of escalation in the Middle East and to doubts about how much diesel Russia can actually deliver.