Trump waives Russia sanctions before new law takes effect

President Donald Trump waived several sanctions on Russia and tariffs on major buyers of Russian energy Friday night, two days before a new U.S. law aimed at pressuring Moscow over its war in Ukraine was due to take effect.

In an executive order, Trump invoked a provision allowing him to withhold measures if he certifies to Congress that doing so is in the “national interests of the United States.” He said he had notified Congress. The waivers will remain in place until administration officials “determine that further action is appropriate,” according to CBS News.

The bipartisan Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act, which Trump signed in September, targets Russia’s economy and countries that buy its oil and gas. Tariffs of 100% on the world’s five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas were set to take effect Sunday, CBS News reported. China, India and Turkey are among the major buyers the law targets.

Trump also waived the law’s 500% tariffs on Russian goods and halted certain other sanctions on Russia, according to CBS News. His order directed administration officials to “monitor” countries that import Russian energy or evade sanctions.

The BBC reported that the law also includes sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior Russian officials, banks and other financial institutions, and Russia’s “shadow fleet” of tankers used to circumvent existing restrictions. The law is named for the late Republican senator from South Carolina, a prominent supporter of Ukraine who died on July 11.

The decision follows Trump’s move last week to ease sanctions on Russian diesel and his announcement of a deal with Putin to bring Russian diesel to the U.S. market. Trump has sought to lower energy prices after oil prices spiked during the Iran war. The BBC reported that the diesel plan was intended to bring down U.S. energy prices before November’s midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress.

The moves have prompted objections from lawmakers in both parties. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of 20 lawmakers urged Trump in a letter to carry out the new law fully, the BBC reported. They said its implementation would be “decisive in forcing Putin to take peace talks seriously” and called for sanctions to be applied “to their fullest extent and without delay.”

CBS News reported that a bipartisan group of senators separately called the diesel waivers a “betrayal of the people of Ukraine.” In a letter urging enforcement of the Graham law, they said its authorities would increase economic pressure on Russia and countries enabling its war, “in particular China.”

U.S. allies also criticised the diesel deal, the BBC reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a gift to Putin and “an investment in a war that must be ended.”

Trump has also pressed Russia and Ukraine to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure, announcing an “energy ceasefire” last weekend. Zelenskyy initially said Ukraine would observe one, but said after further Russian attacks that it would no longer refrain from striking Russian refineries, according to CBS News.