President Trump halted sanctions and 100% tariffs on the world's five largest buyers of Russian crude oil and natural gas late Saturday, hours before the measures were set to take effect under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctions Act. He also waived the law's 500% tariffs on Russian goods and suspended certain other sanctions on Russia.
The waivers, which Trump said serve "the national interests of the United States," will remain in place until he determines that "further action is appropriate." The five countries covered by the law are the biggest purchasers of Russian crude and gas, a group that includes China and India, which have absorbed the bulk of Moscow's energy exports since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
The law targeted the economies that keep Russian oil revenue flowing rather than Russia itself, on the theory that secondary tariffs on buyers would squeeze the Kremlin's war budget harder than direct sanctions. Trump's action removes that pressure entirely for now.
Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy to Russian President Vladimir Putin, praised the decision on Saturday, calling it "an important and truly historic moment." The law was championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died before it passed.
The Lindsey Graham Act was designed as a mandatory trigger: once enacted, the tariffs and sanctions would apply automatically unless a president issued a waiver, a mechanism meant to prevent the White House from quietly shelving them. Trump used that waiver authority to block the entire package at once.
The 100% tariffs would have roughly doubled the cost of Russian crude for the five importing nations, forcing them to either pay a steep premium or find alternative supply. The 500% tariff on Russian goods was a separate penalty aimed at cutting what remained of direct U.S.-Russia trade.
The suspension leaves Congress's signature Russia sanctions law on the books but unenforced. Trump did not set a date for when he might revisit the decision, saying only that the waivers hold until he determines further action is warranted.
