WORLD
Trump waives punitive tariffs on imports from countries buying Russian oil
- IBJ Bureau
- Oct 17, 2026
US President Donald Trump has waived many sanctions, restrictions and duties days before they were to take effect under a Bill that he signed into law last month.
Mr Trump’s executive order comes as he has been warming up to Russiaand publicly criticising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, including suggesting that Ukraine needs a new leader.
The legislation, whose primary backer in US Congress was the late Senator Lindsey Graham, would have imposed tariffs of up to 100 per cent within 30 days on all goods brought into the US from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas.
Any country that knowingly bought oil or gas 30 days after the law was enacted or was among the top five countries helping Russia evade sanctions would have also attracted the tariffs.
Mr Trump had signed the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 inmid-September.
“I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver at this time isin the national interests of the UnitedStates,” Mr Trump has said in the order released by the White House.
Countries such as India, which is among the biggest buyersof Russian oil, have raised concerns about the Russia sanctions law.
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