US President Donald Trump has deferred implementation of several Russia-related sanctions and tariffs for a day that were set to go into effect, providing some relief to India and China.
In the interests of the United States, Trump said he “made the decision in the national interest of the United States to come to a decision” on his decision. The executive order released late Friday said he had turned in a certification to Congress about his action by delivering a reasons to the law to waive them.
In the order, Trump waived all such sanctions, restrictions and duties imposed by the Graham Act.
It is not, however, that the measures are effectively withdrawn but merely put on hold until they can be implemented. This means that the administration can implement the tariffs and sanctions at a later stage.
Last month, Trump signed the legislation called the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. It allowed the president a time limit of 30 days to impose “substantial” trade penalties on nations that buy Russian crude and impose further limits on Russian companies.
The bill would place a tax of up to 100 per cent on imports of Russian crude oil from China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan, the five biggest countries purchasing the energy.
The law also contained sanctions on many Russian entities, as well as tariffs of up to 500 per cent on US imports of Russian energy products.
India and China had reportedly been concerned with proposed measures so far mainly due to their Russian oil imports. The temporary action only suspends the planned tariffs for now, but American uncertainty remains as to whether the administration can implement similar tariffs in the future.
The bill was named in honor of the famous Washington supporter of Ukraine, US Senator Lindsey Graham. According to the provided information, Graham returned from a trip to Kyiv in July, where he died.
Remaining trade penalties on the proposed list still stand for the time being, albeit with hope for them still hanging in the air.