President Waives Sanctions and Tariffs Under Russia-Iran Act Ahead of Deadline

Original summary · What happened

President Donald Trump executed an executive order waiving key provisions of the Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 shortly before mandatory implementation. The underlying statute had cleared the House on September 16 and received presidential signature two days later, mandating that import tariffs on all Russian merchandise increase by as much as 500 percent within 30 days. The legislation also ordered penalty duties reaching 100 percent against leading purchasers of Russian oil and gas, including major economies such as China and India.

The waiver was issued two days prior to the statutory enforcement cutoff following official certification submitted to Congress asserting that the exemption aligns with national interests. The legislative package had been championed by the late South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham to restrict economic resources supporting military operations in Ukraine. Suspending both the high duties on Russian products and the secondary tariffs against top petroleum consumers averts an immediate escalation in cross-border trade friction.