WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday waiving sweeping new sanctions and tariffs against Russia, putting the recently enacted congressional measure on hold.
The order invokes a national-interest waiver in the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which Trump signed September 18. Congress adopted the legislation to increase economic pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
The measure provides for sanctions on Russian individuals, financial institutions and energy-related activities, along with steep tariffs. Friday’s order formally sets out a 500 percent tariff on Russian goods and additional 100 percent tariffs involving major importers of Russian oil and gas, but then waives the application of those duties and numerous sanctions provisions.
Trump wrote in the order that he had certified to Congress that the waivers were “in the national interests of the United States.” The White House did not publicly detail the reasoning in the text of the order beyond referring to the certification and an accompanying report. The executive order explicitly leaves in place sanctions imposed under separate earlier authorities.
The action follows Trump’s announcement last week of an agreement to import Russian diesel amid high fuel prices. That decision has drawn criticism from lawmakers who argue that purchases could provide revenue to Moscow while it continues its invasion of Ukraine.
Within hours of the announcement, Russia launched a massive strike against the Ukrainian energy sector. Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy announced that 15 power generation and transmission facilities were struck on Saturday.
