Trump suspends Graham Act measures targeting Russian energy buyers

Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending implementation of sanctions, restrictions and duties under the Graham Act, a law aimed at measures involving Russian energy exports. The order pauses the measures rather than permanently removing them, according to India Blooms.

Trump said the waiver was in the national interest of the United States and submitted a certification to Congress making that case. The law was signed by Trump on September 18, 2026, India Blooms reported. It set an October 18 deadline for imposing new sanctions, according to UNN and India Blooms.

NewsCord said Trump signed his order two days before a deadline for sanctions to take effect and shortly before tariffs were due to start. The sources describe the deadline and the timing of implementation in different levels of detail, but all report a suspension of the measures.

The tariff provision allows duties of up to 100 percent on goods from countries purchasing Russian oil or gas. UNN describes the provision more broadly as applying to countries that buy Russian oil and gas or help Moscow evade sanctions. NewsCord says the law directed Trump to impose tariffs on the five biggest importers of Russian oil or gas.

India Blooms and Connected to India identify India as among the buyers facing possible exposure to the tariff measure. The measure’s suspension leaves those proposed duties available under the law rather than bringing them into effect now. India Blooms says the order does not permanently scrap the tariffs.

NewsCord also reports that the law exempts countries importing less than 15 percent of Russia’s natural gas exports if they are taking steps to reduce those imports. The outlets emphasize different parts of the order.

NewsCord describes a suspension covering sanctions, restrictions and customs duties, and highlights Trump’s national-interest justification and the law’s exemption. India Blooms focuses on Russian energy exports and the potential tariff burden on India and other major crude buyers.

UNN’s account stresses that the law required action by October 18 while saying implementation was postponed without an end date. The source accounts do not establish an end date for the suspension. NewsCord also reports that the law was designed to reduce Moscow’s revenue for the war, and says it would cover Russian officials, banks and a tanker fleet.

That account adds that the Associated Press reported an earlier agreement under which Russia would supply diesel: more than 300,000 tons immediately, another 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons afterward. Those details appear in NewsCord’s excerpt; the other accounts do not provide them or connect them explicitly to the order’s suspension.

The immediate issue is whether the suspended measures will later be applied and how the administration will treat the law’s deadlines and exemptions. The reported dates are specific: the law’s October 18 deadline and its September 18 signing. The sources do not report a later decision on implementation or a fixed end point for the pause.