Key takeaways
- Trump waived Graham Act Russia tariffs on October 16, and Rubio said Trump wants to use a 60-day period to analyze the economic impact of imposing both sanctions and tariffs, according to Reuters.
- The waiver halts new tariffs on Russian imports and top oil buyers but leaves earlier executive order sanctions in place.
- Diesel up roughly 70% this year, Brent above $100 and India's refinery ties form the economic backdrop to the pause.
President Donald Trump waived the tariff provisions of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by executive order on Friday night, October 16. On Saturday, October 17, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump wants to use a 60-day period to analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs would mean for the global economy and the US economy, according to Reuters. Trump invoked Section 115 of the law, which lets the president issue "national interest" waivers. The Senate passed the act 86-11, and it was signed into law on September 18, 2026.
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The waiver covers tariffs of up to 500% on direct imports from Russia (Sections 112 and 113). It also covers tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas, and from the top facilitators of sanctions evasion, according to Reuters, which reports that China and India are among the biggest buyers of Russian oil. Those secondary tariffs were scheduled to take effect on October 18. The waiver leaves in place the sanctions on Russia that earlier executive orders created.
The stated reason is an economic review
Rubio's rationale, as announced on October 17, is economic. The review is meant to weigh what the tariffs would do to the US and global economy. Trump's own remarks were less specific. Speaking at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida residence, he said: "A lot of you don't know what my decision is yet, but we'll figure it out..." The remark indicates that no permanent sanctions policy has been settled. The 60-day window is a study period. It is neither a repeal of the Graham Act provisions nor an automatic reinstatement of them.
The economic backdrop is the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran, together with Houthi strikes on oil facilities and an airport in Saudi Arabia and attacks on shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Diesel prices have risen roughly 70% in 2026, and Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, has been trading above $100 a barrel. On October 9 the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a temporary general license for Russian diesel imports, as Crisis.Zone reported, while pump prices were high. Tariffs of up to 100% on the main buyers of Russian crude would, in this analysis, have added an immediate supply and inflation shock.
Observers are reading: how the election calendar, India's refinery ties and a recessed Congress combine to shape the 60-day window.
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What the 60 days settle
On the available evidence, the stated answer is an economic review, and the surrounding conditions fit that answer. They are high diesel prices, Brent above $100, a trade relationship with India that Rubio described as important, and an election on November 3. These conditions explain the timing. They do not show Trump's intent, which he has not spelled out.
The waiver itself settles little. The Graham Act's tariff provisions are suspended, not repealed, and Trump has said his decision is still open. Lawmakers who backed the 86-11 vote have said they oppose the move, but Congress is away until after Election Day. The open question is what the administration decides when the review ends, and no source in the record says which way it will go.
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