WASHINGTON, October 17 (ANI) — U.S. President Donald Trump has waived several sanctions related to Russian fuel sales that were due to take effect under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, a month after signing the bill.
The law, whose implementation has now been paused, would have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on goods imported into the United States from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or natural gas, including India and China.
The move comes amid a diesel supply deal with Russia and soaring diesel prices in the United States ahead of the November midterm elections.
Trump invoked Section 115 of the Graham Act, which authorizes the president to waive the application of any sanctions provision concerning a foreign person, any restriction concerning a person, and any duty imposed under the law.
“I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification, consistent with section 115(b) of the Graham Act,” Trump said in the order.
He waived the application of duties provided for under Sections 112 and 113 of the act. These provisions allowed Trump to increase duties on all goods imported into the United States from Russia to as much as 500% ad valorem, or based on the value of the goods. They also permitted duties of up to 100% ad valorem on goods from the five largest importers of Russian-origin crude oil or natural gas.
The decision follows Trump’s announcement of a diesel supply deal with Russia. Under the arrangement, he said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel fuel, followed by another 500,000 metric tons in November and 1 million metric tons immediately afterward.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said a further 3 million metric tons would be supplied within a short period, depending on the condition of Russia’s diesel refineries.
Trump described the deal as a “big deal” and thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for agreeing to supply “massive amounts” of diesel to the United States.
India had expressed concerns to Washington over the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 amid the threat of tariffs.
On Wednesday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs reiterated the country’s position on maintaining stability in global energy markets amid the U.S.-Russia diesel deal.
“As far as the diesel deal is concerned, we do not wish to comment on commercial arrangements that have been made between two countries, except to say that we have always advocated for stability in global energy markets,” spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
Jaiswal also noted that India had directly conveyed its objections to U.S. legal measures targeting trade ties with Russia, specifically the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act (SRIA).
“We have already conveyed to the US side our concerns regarding the SRIA legislation,” he said. (ANI)
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