Trump waives Russia sanctions, tariffs after U.S. diesel deal draws backlash

Donald Trump signed an executive order waiving sanctions and tariffs under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, the Washington Examiner reported. Trump said he had sent Congress a written certification explaining why he viewed the waiver as serving U.S. national interests.

Headlines from The Jerusalem Post, Fox Business, AOL and Bloomberg also described Trump’s waiver, with their wording variously referring to sanctions, tariffs, restrictions or duties. The executive order concerns legislation Trump signed into law last month. The Washington Examiner reported that the act was championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The order’s stated legal basis, as quoted by the Examiner, requires a written certification to Congress for a waiver. The outlet’s account does not provide the certification’s full text or further details of its contents beyond Trump’s stated explanation. The waiver followed Trump’s announcement of a U.S. agreement to purchase Russian diesel one week earlier.

Trump said the purchase was intended to lower global energy prices before the midterm elections. The Washington Examiner reported that the diesel deal prompted bipartisan concern among lawmakers that the United States was undermining Ukraine in its war with Russia. The Examiner also quoted Warren criticizing Trump’s use of sanctions authority.

Warren said Trump had not used his existing authority to disrupt support for Russia’s war effort or to help achieve what Warren described as a just peace for Ukraine. That is Warren’s assessment, as reported by the outlet; the account does not give a response from Trump to that criticism.

The order and the diesel deal are distinct actions in the Examiner’s account: the U.S. purchase announcement preceded the sanctions waiver by one week. Trump’s stated rationale for the purchase was energy prices, while his stated justification for the waiver was the U.S. national interest.

The account does not establish that the diesel deal caused the waiver, though it reports the lawmakers’ concerns about the deal and the timing of the order. The article says the act was championed by Graham and reports that Trump signed it into law last month.

Its account also quotes a provision describing a written certification to Congress as a condition for waiving sanctions provisions, restrictions or duties under the act. The outlet reports that Trump submitted such a certification, but the executive order’s full reasoning is not detailed in the article.

The documented next point is Congress’s receipt of Trump’s written certification and the questions lawmakers raised about the diesel deal. The Washington Examiner’s account does not specify any further congressional action or provide a response from the lawmakers who expressed concern.