President Trump on Friday evening blocked new sanctions against Russia and high tariffs on big buyers of Russian oil from taking effect, waiving parts of a bipartisan law aimed at putting pressure on the Russian government – as Mr. Trump seeks to drive down prices by exploiting Russian energy.
100% tariffs on the world’s five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas are set to take effect on Sunday under the Lindsey O. Graham Act sanctioning Russia, which Mr. Trump signed into law. signed at the end of last month. But the law gives the president the authority to waive parts of the law if he certifies to Congress that the suspension of sanctions is “in the national interest of the United States,” a provision Mr. Trump invoked in an executive order Friday.
The president said he had sent a notification to Congress.
He also waived the law’s 500% tariffs on Russian products and lifted some other sanctions against Russia. He said the waivers would remain in effect until administration officials “determine that additional action is appropriate” and ordered members of his administration to “monitor” countries that import Russian energy or evade sanctions.
An envoy to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday welcomed Mr. Trump’s decision.
“The Trump administration’s suspension of the Graham Act is an important and truly historic moment,” Kirill Dmitriev said in a social media post.
In a social media post highlighting the consequences of an attack on Ukraine’s energy sector, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the decision was “unfortunate,” adding that the Graham Act “could have helped enormously.”
“A blackout of US sanctions, easing pressure on the aggressor, financial rewards for Putin – all this only encourages him to continue attacking,” Zelensky said in his message.
The law — championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died before its passage — was largely aimed at the world’s largest buyers of Russian oil and gas, including China, India and Turkey. The European Union has also historically purchased large quantities of natural gas from Russia, but it has significantly reduced its imports in recent years.
Friday night’s waivers came a week after Mr. Trump’s. eased sanctions against Russian diesel and announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import diesel into the U.S. market.
The moves mark a turnaround for the United States, which has for years imposed tight restrictions on Russian oil and gas — and has urged other countries to follow suit — in an effort to prevent Putin from using his country’s energy wealth to finance his invasion of Ukraine.
But as oil prices remain high after soaring because of the war in Iran, Mr. Trump is increasingly turning his attention to Russia and Ukraine, arguing that the war in Ukraine has driven up energy prices.
Mr. Trump urged the two countries to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure last weekend. announcing an “energy ceasefire”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky initially said he was ready to respect an energy ceasefire, but after continued Russian attacks, he said earlier this week that Ukraine would no longer hesitate to strike Russian refineries.
The US president attacked Zelensky, saying he was “not a big fan”.
The decision to ease sanctions sparked reactions in Congress. Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of senators called the diesel waivers a “betrayal of the Ukrainian people” and urged Mr. Trump to implement the sanctions and tariffs set out in the Graham Act.
“These authorities demand that you exert economic pressure on Russia and the main actors in its war, in particular China, and thus strengthen your negotiating position to quickly end this ruinous conflict,” they write.
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