US President Donald Trump officially exempted the imposition of heavy secondary sanctions on foreign consumers of Russian energy, one month after he signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (SRIA) into law. Trump’s executive waiver stops the prospect of up to 100% duties on goods coming from the world’s five largest buyers of Russian crude oil and natural gas, giving immediate relief to major trading partners such as India and China.
Trump acted on his executive powers under Section 115 of the Graham Act, which allows the president to waive sanctions, tariffs, and trade bans if they are deemed vital for the country’s national security and economic stability.
“I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States,” Trump stated in the executive order.
The waiver includes Sections 112 and 113 of the Act, which gave powers to levy a 500% tariff on Russian imports and 100% tariffs on other nations buying energy from Russia.
Sky-high US diesel prices cause dramatic policy change preceding midterms
The dramatic change in US policy comes amid a major bilateral fuel deal struck directly between the governments of Washington and Moscow. In light of sky-high US diesel prices just before the November midterms, the Trump administration negotiated a multi-stage delivery plan for the Russian diesel fuel:
Immediate delivery: More than 300,000 tonnes of diesel fuel delivered right away.
November pipeline: 500,000 tonnes to be delivered in November, followed by another 1 million tonnes soon after.
Additional supplies: An extra 3 million tonnes up to the mark, depending on the capacities of the Russian refineries.
Commenting on the truth of social, Trump described the deal as “a big deal,” thanking President of Russia Vladimir Putin for his willingness to deliver “massive amounts of diesel” to calm down American fuel pumps.
India welcomes temporary tariffs suspension amid energy market worries
Previously, India had expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Graham Act, saying that punishing the Russian crude oil buyers with tariffs could seriously impact the global energy markets and US-India bilateral ties.
Commenting on the above-mentioned developments, the MEA spokesman Randhir Jaiswal reaffirmed India’s position on predictable global markets.
“As far as the diesel deal is concerned, we do not wish to comment on commercial arrangements that have been made between two countries, except to say that we have always advocated for stability in global energy markets,” Jaiswal stated, adding that India had already conveyed its firm opposition regarding the SRIA legislation directly to US counterparts.
