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↑Part of: Trump waives Russia measures as Moscow agrees to diesel shipments
Energy · Europe

Trump waives Russia sanctions and declines tariffs

Donald Trump signed an executive order waiving sanctions, restrictions and duties under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The order also leaves un-imposed proposed tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods, while Trump said he certified to Congress that the waiver served U.S. national interests.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 12 outlets' reporting · Full text read from 4 of 12 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 6 entries
12 outlets4 regionsLatest reporting 4 min read
Coverage: MixedL 1 · C 6 · R 5
File photo
Photo: Daniel Torok / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

What happened

Key facts

  • Donald Trump signed an executive order waiving sanctions, restrictions and duties under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (per New York Post, The Times of India).
  • Trump said he certified to Congress that the waiver served the national interests of the United States (per New York Post, Washington Examiner, iheart.com).
  • The act was signed into law last month, and Trump issued the waiver before provisions were due to take effect (per Washington Examiner, The Times of India, New York Post).
  • Trump did not impose proposed tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods (per New York Post, iheart.com).
  • One week before the waiver, Trump announced a U.S. deal to purchase Russian diesel, saying the aim was to lower global energy prices before the midterm elections (per Washington Examiner, New York Post, The Times of India).
  • The diesel deal drew bipartisan backlash from lawmakers concerned that the United States was undermining Ukraine in its war with Russia (per Washington Examiner, iheart.com, The Guardian).

The brief

Donald Trump signed an executive order waiving sanctions, restrictions and duties under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, and did not impose proposed tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods. Trump said he certified to Congress that the waiver served the national interests of the United States.

The order came before provisions were due to take effect; the Times of India described them as due within days, while the New York Post said the sanctions provisions were set to take effect on Sunday.

The act provided for sanctions and restrictions concerning Russian officials, institutions and energy exports, and tariffs or duties affecting Russian goods and major buyers of Russian oil and gas.

The Times of India said the legislation covered major importers including China and India and allowed duties of up to 100% on goods entering the United States from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas.

The New York Post reported that Trump waived a provision that could have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on the largest importers of Russian oil and gas, as well as declining the proposed 500% tariffs on Russian goods. The Washington Examiner reported that Trump signed the act into law last month and later put it on hold indefinitely.

It said the waiver followed a U.S. deal to purchase Russian diesel, announced one week earlier. Trump said the purchase aimed to reduce global energy prices before the midterm elections. The outlet reported that the deal drew bipartisan criticism from lawmakers who said it risked undermining Ukraine in its war with Russia.

The sources describe the sequence and the stated purpose of the diesel purchase; they do not establish that the purchase caused the waiver. Trump’s order invoked the act’s waiver provision. In the order, Trump said he was waiving the act’s sanctions, restrictions and duties.

The Washington Examiner quoted the order as requiring a written certification to Congress that a waiver served U.S. national interests, along with a report explaining the basis for that certification. Trump said he had certified the waiver’s national-interest basis. The sources do not provide the report’s explanation.

The New York Post reported that Trump said Russia would supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, another 500,000 tons in November, 1 million tons afterward and 3 million tons within a short period. That account gives Trump’s statement, rather than independent confirmation of the deliveries.

The Washington Examiner said Russia rejected the proposal; it does not specify in the excerpt what proposal Russia rejected. Lawmakers raised objections from different perspectives. Representative Don Bacon said the waiver prolonged the war rather than ending it. The Washington Examiner reported broader bipartisan concern that the U.S. diesel arrangement undermined Ukraine.

Senator Lindsey Graham, whom the New York Post quoted, said the act gave the president tools to use through economic sanctions to end the war. These are lawmakers’ assessments, not independently established effects of the waiver. The immediate documented decision is that Trump waived the act’s provisions and left the proposed tariffs un-imposed.

The sources report that the waiver was certified to Congress and that a report explaining its basis was required by the act, but they do not describe the report’s contents. The next concrete questions are whether the administration makes that explanation available and how lawmakers respond to the waiver and the diesel arrangement.

Why it matters

  • The waiver removes the act’s proposed sanctions and duties from application at this stage, including duties of up to 100% aimed at major buyers of Russian oil and gas and proposed tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods.
  • Russian energy exporters and major buyers of Russian oil and gas are directly implicated by the provisions Trump waived; the act named China and India among major importers covered by its framework.
  • The U.S. diesel purchase creates a documented economic interest in lower energy prices: Trump said the deal aimed to reduce global prices before the midterm elections. Lawmakers cited a competing concern that the deal could undermine Ukraine.
  • Trump said he certified the waiver as serving U.S. national interests, while the act’s stated process required a report to Congress explaining the certification’s basis.

What to watch next

  • Whether the administration provides Congress the report explaining the national-interest certification required by the act.
  • Whether lawmakers take further action over Trump’s waiver of the sanctions, restrictions and duties.
  • Whether the U.S. purchase of Russian diesel proceeds as described, including the deliveries Trump said would begin immediately and continue afterward.
  • Whether lawmakers continue to challenge the diesel arrangement on the grounds that it undermines Ukraine.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
13 source articles · 12 unique outlets
Coverage mix: Mixed· 1 Left · 6 Center · 5 Right
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 42% · Middle East 17% · Other 41%
Coverage mix
Mixed
Left
Center
Right
1 outlet
6 outlets
5 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
12 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
How we measure coverage

One source is from a wire service (AP, Reuters, AFP or Bloomberg), whose reporting other outlets often republish.

How outlets' accounts compare

2 framing differences · 5 uncorroborated claims · 1 information gap
Sources broadly agree on the core facts but frame the story differently.Compared across 4 reports whose full text Updat3 used; 8 other outlets were checked by headline only.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources agree on the facts but emphasise different angles, actors or consequences.
  • The Washington Examiner foregrounds the U.S. diesel purchase and bipartisan concern that it undermines Ukraine; the New York Post emphasizes Trump’s decision not to impose tariffs of up to 500% and includes Representative Don Bacon’s criticism.
  • The Times of India focuses on the act’s reach to major buyers of Russian oil and gas, including China and India, while the New York Post emphasizes the waived measures concerning Russian officials, institutions and energy exports.
Updat3: The underlying facts agree; only the emphasis differs.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • The Washington Examiner says the waiver followed the U.S. diesel purchase announcement, but no source establishes that the purchase caused the waiver.
  • Trump said the waiver served U.S. national interests; lawmakers cited concern that the diesel deal and the waiver could undermine Ukraine.
  • The Washington Examiner says Russia rejected a proposal but does not identify the proposal in the excerpt.
  • Representative Don Bacon said the waiver prolonged the war rather than ending it.
  • The New York Post reported Trump’s claim that Russia would supply diesel in several installments, including more than 300,000 tons immediately.
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The sources do not establish whether the Russian diesel deliveries Trump described occurred.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. On March 6, 2014, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13660, authorizing sanctions against people responsible for actions undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. The G7 price-cap policy emerged in 2022 as governments sought to limit the revenue Russia could earn from oil while keeping Russian crude available to global markets.
    Background · from our historical context
  3. Its passage followed several years of US and allied efforts to restrict Russian energy revenue after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. On March 8, 2022, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14066, prohibiting US imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and coal.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. The European Union’s ban on most seaborne Russian crude took effect on December 5, 2022; on the same date, a G7 price cap barred participating firms from providing maritime services for Russian crude sold above the cap.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. The EU’s ban on most seaborne Russian petroleum products, including diesel, followed on February 5, 2023.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

Before the October 2026 decision, Congress had passed a Russia-sanctions bill with overwhelming support, and President Donald Trump signed it in September 2026. The measure provided for duties on Russian goods and on major buyers of Russian oil and gas, including India.

Its passage followed several years of US and allied efforts to restrict Russian energy revenue after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On March 8, 2022, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14066, prohibiting US imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and coal.

Related developments2 stories

Original sources

1 of 13 articles · Europe · Show all

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