Key takeaways
- President Trump signed an order on October 16, 2026, suspending Graham Act tariffs and sanctions on Russia due October 18.
- The waiver follows an October 9 Russian diesel arrangement, while U.S. diesel stands at $6.18 per gallon before midterms.
- The tariffs stay in law but unapplied, with no reinstatement date set and the USTR and cabinet monitoring purchases.
Update:
David Monroe
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday, October 16, 2026. It suspends tariffs and sanctions on Russia and its main oil customers that were due to take effect on Sunday, October 18. According to the Washington Examiner, the order invokes the waiver authority in Section 115 of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which became law on September 18, 2026.
The suspended measures were meant to cut Moscow's fossil-fuel revenues. According to Anadolu Agency, they include a 500% tariff on Russian-origin goods entering the United States. They also include a 100% tariff on goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas, chiefly China and India, alongside Turkey, for purchases made on or after October 18. A further 100% tariff would have applied to the top five countries that help Russia evade oil sanctions. Statutory sanctions on President Vladimir Putin, senior Kremlin officials, defense and banking institutions and Russia's "shadow fleet" of tankers were also waived.
What the waiver does
According to the text of the bill (H.R. 5334) on Congress.gov, Section 115(b) lets the president waive sanctions and duties by sending Congress a written certification and report. The certification must state that the waiver is in the "national interests of the United States." The White House submitted that certification. The measures are paused indefinitely, until the president or designated cabinet officials decide further action is appropriate.
The law itself is unchanged. The tariffs and sanctions remain on the books but are not being applied. The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the Secretaries of State, Treasury and Energy are directed to monitor foreign purchases of Russian energy and sanctions evasion. The White House has given no explanation beyond the national-interest certification.
Observers are reading: how the October 9 diesel arrangement, pump prices and the November 3 midterms fit together, and what analysts say about the market effect.
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Assessment and reaction
On the available record, the most consistent explanation is that cost-of-living pressure ahead of the midterms, together with the Russian diesel arrangement, outweighed enforcing the sanctions on schedule. The White House's formal basis remains the national-interest certification.
Reactions show how contested that trade-off is. Democratic Representative Don Beyer wrote: "Trump's latest surrender to Putin again betrays our Ukrainian partners." Republican Representative Don Bacon said: "The President is prolonging the war, not ending it." At the same time, EU leaders at a Brussels summit were advancing the bloc's 22nd sanctions package.
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