Trump Waives Graham Act Russia Sanctions Two Days Before They Take Effect

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday, 16 October, that waives the bulk of new tariffs and sanctions contained in the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The law, which Trump signed on 18 September, required the measures to take effect by 18 October unless the president certified that a waiver served the national interest of the United States. Trump submitted that certification to Congress.

The order sets a 500 percent duty increase on Russian goods and 100 percent duties on goods from the five largest importers of Russian oil and gas, then suspends both. It also waives a long list of other sanctions and restrictions listed in sections 102, 103, 104 and subsequent provisions of the Act. Earlier sanctions imposed under previous executive orders remain in force. The waivers have no fixed end date; they stay in place until the president or designated secretaries decide further action is required.

The decision follows a deal announced earlier in the month under which Russia would release diesel into the market while the United States eased related sanctions. Brent crude closed Friday at $109.86 a barrel, its highest level since May, after touching $110 during the session. West Texas Intermediate settled at $101.41. Energy shares rose while technology stocks fell sharply, with the Nasdaq 100 down 2.5 percent in the session and roughly $1 trillion in market value erased from the tech sector in a single day.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the waiver a mistake. Speaking to reporters on Saturday, he said the diesel arrangement was only the first step and that further easing would follow. "Unfortunately, the lifting of sanctions will continue," he stated. "I consider the diesel deal to be the first step. It seems to me that it is impossible to stop Putin in this way. On the contrary, he feels joy, happiness that he has such support." Zelensky noted that Russian forces had struck more than 15 energy facilities overnight, aiming to produce blackouts ahead of winter, and that the Graham Act "could have helped enormously" if left in place.

Russian officials described the waiver as a positive development. The timing places the decision two days before the statutory deadline and one week after the diesel arrangement. Trump has also said Zelensky is harder to deal with than Vladimir Putin, a remark that widened the public gap between Washington and Kyiv. European leaders meeting in Brussels on Friday heard Zelensky describe the US moves as rewards that encourage continued Russian attacks.

The Act had passed with bipartisan support and was intended to accelerate pressure on Russian energy revenues. By invoking the national-interest waiver clause in section 115, Trump keeps the statutory framework on the books while suspending its immediate effect. Whether Congress will attempt to override the waiver or whether further energy deals will follow remains open. Zelensky said he still hopes Trump will act to stop the killings and the strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, but he added that the goal cannot be reached by limiting Ukraine's responses or by lifting sanctions.