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

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the waiver a pause to study the economic cost, a week after the White House eased sanctions in exchange for Russian diesel.

- Published: 2026-10-18T05:07:38.100Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-18/trump-suspends-russia-oil-tariffs-for-60-days-as-brent-crude
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: markets
- Sources: [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-comments-before-departing-to-uzbekistan-and-india/article71599016.ece), [Kyiv Independent](https://kyivindependent.com/marco-rubio-says-trumps-russian-oil-sanctions-waiver-is-a-60-day-pause-denies-restricting-starlink-access/), [BFM.ru](https://www.bfm.ru/news/621200), [MercoPress](https://en.mercopress.com/2026/10/17/brent-touches-us-110-for-the-first-time-since-may-on-middle-east-tensions?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=main&utm_campaign=rss)

On October 16, President Donald Trump [waived key provisions of the Graham Act](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-comments-before-departing-to-uzbekistan-and-india/article71599016.ece). 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](https://www.outlookindia.com/international/trump-suspends-russia-linked-tariffs-india-russian-oil), 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"](https://kyivindependent.com/marco-rubio-says-trumps-russian-oil-sanctions-waiver-is-a-60-day-pause-denies-restricting-starlink-access/). "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](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/10/9/trump-announces-russian-diesel-deal-amid-soaring-us-fuel-prices), 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](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/13/trumps-diesel-deal-opens-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](https://www.bfm.ru/news/621200) 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](https://en.mercopress.com/2026/10/17/brent-touches-us-110-for-the-first-time-since-may-on-middle-east-tensions?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=main&utm_campaign=rss), 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.

## What this means

The waiver lets Indian and Chinese refiners keep buying discounted Russian barrels without risking their US export markets, so Russian oil revenue holds up and the Graham Act loses force as a threat. The market had already priced little risk of the tariffs being enforced, which is why Brent rose anyway. The supply shortage comes from the Gulf and from Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries, not from sanctions. The closest precedent is November 2018, when Washington granted 180-day waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil on the eve of a midterm vote, then let them lapse in May 2019 once crude had eased. The desk's read is that the 60-day pause will be extended or quietly rolled over before it expires in mid-December, as long as Brent stays above $100 and diesel stays scarce. The view that this is a short, reversible pause probably underrates how much leverage high pump prices give Moscow. The forecast would be wrong if Washington reimposes the tariffs while crude prices are still high, something that becomes more plausible only if the Strait of Hormuz reopens and prices fall far enough to make enforcement cheap.

## What to watch

- Whether Russian diesel cargoes actually leave Baltic and Black Sea ports in November in the promised volumes. A shortfall would show the deal is political signaling, not supply.
- What Rubio says on Russian oil in New Delhi. Any request that India cut purchases in exchange for American oil and gas would show what price Washington wants for the waiver.
- The European Union's response, especially any move to tighten its own Russian energy measures alone. That would widen the transatlantic split over sanctions.