The order imposes the duties on paper but suspends them immediately, so Trump can apply them later
US President Donald Trump has activated the tariffs and sanctions in a new law aimed at buyers of Russian oil and gas, and then suspended almost all of them in the same order. India and China, two of the largest buyers, avoid a 100 per cent duty that was due to apply on Sunday.
One order, two moves
The executive order, signed on Friday and published by the White House that evening, implements the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which Trump signed into law on September 18. The law gave him 30 days to impose duties of up to 100 per cent on goods from the biggest buyers of Russian oil and gas, a deadline falling on October 18.
The order does formally impose these tariffs. It raises duties by 100 per cent on goods from the top five importers of Russian crude and natural gas if they knowingly make new purchases, and by the same amount on the top five facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion. It also raises duties on goods from Russia itself by 500 per cent.
But Section 4 immediately switches them off. “I hereby waive the application of any duties provided for in sections 112 and 113 of the Graham Act or this order,” Trump wrote. Because the measures are suspended and not scrapped, he keeps the option to apply them later.
Sanctions waived too
The order also waives most of the law’s sanctions on foreign persons. It tells the US Trade Representative to report back on which countries rank among the top five facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion.
Existing US sanctions on Russia stay in place. The order states that nothing in it affects any sanctions or measures issued under earlier executive orders on Russia.
Relief for India, China and others
By waiving the law, Washington avoids a possible clash with the largest buyers of Russian energy, namely India, China and Turkey. By one estimate, India and China together account for about 70 per cent of Russia’s international energy business. Had the 100 per cent duty been applied to Indian goods, it would have come on top of existing duties.
The decision comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio heads to India. It also follows Trump’s recent move to let Russian diesel into the US market to ease fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections.
What the law was meant to do
The late-senator-era legislation was championed by Senator Lindsey Graham, who has long argued that such sanctions are the key to pushing Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. The war in Ukraine is now in its fifth year.
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