Trump Waives Newly Passed Russia Sanctions, Citing National Interest

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday waiving many of the Russia-related sanctions and tariffs mandated by a law Congress passed in September, days before they were due to take effect. The law, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, would have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the largest importers of Russian crude and gas, and on countries that knowingly bought Russian oil, along with further financial measures, according to Fox Business, which drew on Reuters reporting. Trump submitted a certification to Congress that the waiver is "in the national interests of the United States."

The scope matters for how markets read it. The order blocks new penalties rather than unwinding old ones: ABC reported that it "will not lift sanctions currently imposed against Russia," while giving the administration much wider latitude going forward. The Financial Times described the move as exempting Russia from further sanctions mandated by the new law.

The timing points to energy prices. The waiver follows a deal between Trump and Vladimir Putin under which the Kremlin agreed to eventually release millions of tons of diesel, at a time when diesel prices have climbed amid the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and ahead of the November midterms, Fox Business reported. None of the coverage reviewed reported a measurable oil-market reaction by Friday's close.

What to watch: whether Congress pushes back on the certification, how large buyers of Russian crude adjust their purchases now that the tariff threat is suspended, and whether the diesel deliveries materialize. Because the waiver preserves the president's ability to reimpose the measures, the sanctions threat is deferred rather than removed, which keeps policy risk in energy markets.