Trump waives major Russia sanctions and tariffs under new law

President Donald Trump waived a broad set of Russia-related sanctions and tariffs late Friday, October 16, 2026, just before measures required by a new law were due to take effect. The White House order says Trump submitted a certification to Congress that the waiver is in the national interests of the United States.

The action covers duties on Russian goods, tariffs aimed at major buyers of Russian oil and gas, and numerous sanctions and restrictions established by the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. Reuters reported early Saturday that the decision prevents many of the law’s new penalties from taking effect. The order does not cancel sanctions that were already in force before the law was enacted.

What the order does

Trump signed the Graham Act into law on September 18. The statute called for a 500% duty on goods from Russia, a 100% duty on goods from the five largest importers making new purchases of Russian oil or gas on or after October 18, and a 100% duty on goods from the five leading facilitators of Russian oil-sanctions evasion. Each of those duties was made subject to exceptions and presidential waivers.

In the executive order, Trump formally imposed the statutory rates and then waived the duties under sections 112 and 113 of the act. He also waived sanctions and restrictions across a long list of other sections. The waivers remain in effect until the president, or the secretary of state in consultation with Treasury and the U.S. trade representative, determines that further action is appropriate.

The order directs the trade representative, working with the State, Treasury and Energy departments, to monitor purchases of Russian-origin oil and gas and the role of countries in facilitating sanctions evasion. Those officials are instructed to report developments and advise the president if circumstances support changing the waivers.

Existing sanctions remain in place

The White House document draws an important distinction between the new law and earlier Russia sanctions. It says the waiver does not affect measures imposed under executive orders tied to the national emergency over harmful activities by the Russian government, as those measures stood before the Graham Act became law. The move therefore pauses much of the new sanctions package rather than lifting every U.S. restriction on Russia.

The timing carries added significance because the new duties were designed to raise the cost of buying Russian energy and to pressure countries that help Moscow evade restrictions. The waiver avoids the immediate 100% tariff threat for major energy buyers and suspends the 500% rate on Russian goods. It also leaves the administration with discretion to restore or modify the new penalties after further monitoring.

A shift after congressional action

The decision is a material policy development separate from Trump’s recent agreement to permit Russian diesel into U.S. and global markets. It also arrives amid worsening public friction between Washington and Kyiv. The order itself does not say that the diesel agreement caused the waiver; it states only that Trump determined the waiver serves the national interest and sent Congress a report explaining the basis for that certification.

Congress built waiver authority into the law, so the order uses a power expressly provided by the statute rather than refusing to implement the act outright. At the same time, the breadth and open-ended duration of the waivers mean that many of the law’s most consequential new penalties will not operate unless the administration later decides to activate them.

The practical impact will depend on whether the White House revisits the waiver and how agencies apply sanctions that remain active. For now, the immediate change is clear: the steep new duties and many associated Russia-related sanctions that Congress authorized are suspended, while the pre-existing U.S. sanctions framework continues.

Sources and image credit

Primary record: White House executive order issued October 16, 2026. Independent reporting on the scope and timing of the waiver: Reuters.

Image: Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at a July 16, 2018 news conference in Helsinki, photographed by Kremlin.ru; Wikimedia Commons source record and original Kremlin record. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. The image was center-cropped and resized to 1600×900 with no text added.