Trump waives Russian sanctions outlined in Graham Act before they take effect

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday evening to waive several sanctions against Russia established by the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act. The President told Congress that withholding these sanctions is in the national interest. The waivers, which Trump indicated will remain in place until administration officials determine further action is appropriate, prevent various measures from taking effect this Sunday.

According to CBS News, the waivers include 500% tariffs on Russian goods and prevent 100% tariffs on the world's five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas from taking effect. BBC News reports that the original legislation aimed to punish Russia for its war on Ukraine and included sanctions against President Vladimir Putin, senior Russian government figures, financial institutions, and Russia's shadow tanker fleet.

The law also granted the president authority to levy tariffs of up to 100% on the top five purchasers of Russian oil and gas, most significantly China and India.

The move follows recent comments from Trump regarding the importation of Russian diesel to lower U.S. energy prices. The Kyiv Independent reports that Democratic Representative Don Beyer criticized the waiver, stating that Trump is defying the congressional intent of the act. On October 13, a bipartisan group of U.S. senators had called on Trump to rescind his deal to buy Russian diesel.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hill, BBC News, CBS News, CBC News, Kyiv Independent — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.