Trump Puts New Russia Sanctions on Hold, Citing U.S. National Interest

President Donald Trump has put most of the new Russia sanctions Congress passed this fall on hold, signing an executive order Friday night that waives the tariffs and penalties two days before they were due to take effect, according to the order posted by the White House and reporting by the BBC and The Washington Post.

“I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver at this time is in the national interests of the United States,” Trump wrote in the order, which the White House dated October 16, 2026. The order does not spell out what those national interests are, The Washington Post reported, and the White House did not immediately answer the Post’s overnight request for comment.

BREAKING: President Trump puts new Russia sanctions passed by Congress on hold, saying a waiver is in the U.S. national interest. https://t.co/WzYRNJHitt

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 17, 2026

What the order does

The order implements the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which Trump signed into law on September 18, according to the text of the order. The law is named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, its main backer, who died unexpectedly in July, The Washington Post reported.

On paper, the order sets a 500 percent increase in duties on goods from Russia and a 100 percent increase on goods from the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil and natural gas, along with the top five countries that help Russia dodge oil sanctions, according to the White House text. In the same order, Trump waived all of those duties and most of the law’s sanctions on foreign persons, the text shows. The BBC reported that the biggest of those buyers are China and India, and that the law also targeted senior Russian figures, Russian banks and Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of tankers.

The waivers stay in place until the president or the secretary of state, working with the Treasury secretary and the U.S. trade representative, decides “further action is appropriate,” according to the order. It also directs the trade representative to keep watching Russian oil and gas purchases and sanctions evasion and to report back to the president.

The order states that it does not touch sanctions already in force under earlier executive orders tied to the national emergency over Russia’s conduct, including on everyone already sanctioned under those orders.

Energy prices in the background

The move comes as Trump faces pressure over diesel prices ahead of next month’s midterm elections, in which the cost of living has become a top voter concern, The Washington Post reported. Earlier this month, the administration temporarily eased some sanctions so the U.S. could import Russian diesel in a bid to bring down energy prices, which have climbed during the Iran war, according to the BBC.

Reaction

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized the decision in a post on X on Saturday, saying a decision was made in America “to completely disregard the Lindsey Graham Act.” He added, “A U.S. sanctions blackout, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin – all of this only encourages him to keep attacking.”

Democrats condemned the move. Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia said in a post on X that “Trump’s latest surrender to Putin again betrays our Ukrainian partners and defies clear congressional intent,” the BBC reported.

Moscow welcomed the waiver. Russian special envoy Kirill Dmitriev said in a post on X that the suspension “marks an important and truly historic moment,” and argued that the provisions would have inflicted “serious damage primarily on the U.S. economy and global markets.”

Zelensky later told reporters he believed the Trump administration would lift more sanctions on Russia, and said Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators spoke Friday and could meet next week, according to the BBC.

Sources

• The White House: Implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026
• The Associated Press on X
• BBC News
• The Washington Post
• Volodymyr Zelensky on X
• Rep. Don Beyer on X
• Kirill Dmitriev on X

Reporting by Daily Beltway.