Trump waives Russia oil tariffs under Graham Act, bringing relief to India

Washington: President Donald Trump has put into effect the tariffs of a new US law targeting buyers of Russian oil and then waived them in the same order, sparing countries such as India and China, a 100 per cent duty, a day before it was due to bite and as Secretary of State Marco Rubio heads to India.

The executive order, signed on Friday and posted by the White House late that evening, implements the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. Trump signed the law on September 18. It required duties of up to 100 per cent on goods from the biggest buyers of Russian oil and gas within 30 days, a deadline that falls on Sunday, October 18.

The order raises the duty on goods from “the largest 5 importers of crude oil and natural gas that originated in the Russian Federation” by 100 per cent “if the country knowingly makes new purchases of crude oil or natural gas that originated in the Russian Federation on or after October 18, 2026”.

It imposes the same 100 per cent increase on goods from “the top 5 facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion” and raises the duty on goods from Russia itself by 500 per cent.

But Section 4 of the order immediately suspends those measures. “I hereby waive the application of any duties provided for in sections 112 and 113 of the Graham Act or this order,” Trump wrote.

The order also waives most of the law’s sanctions on foreign persons, covering sections 102(a), 102(d), 102(e), 103 to 111 and 117 of the Act.

The waivers “shall remain in effect until such time as the President or the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Trade Representative, as appropriate, determine that further action is appropriate,” the order says.

The order does not name any country.

Trump said he had sent Congress the written certification the law requires, stating that “the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States”, together with “a report explaining the basis for the certification”. Neither the certification nor the report has been made public.

The pressure is not removed entirely. The US Trade Representative, working with the Secretaries of State, Treasury and Energy, is to “monitor the circumstances related to the importation and purchases by countries of crude oil and natural gas of Russian Federation origin” and “promptly inform the President of any circumstance that, in his opinion, might indicate the need for further action by the President, including with respect to the waivers”.

The Trade Representative must also report to the President on “which countries are among the top 5” facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion.

The order leaves existing US sanctions on Russia in place. “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this order affects any sanctions or other measures provided for under any Executive Order issued to address the national emergency” with respect to Russia, it says.

It also hands most of the President’s powers under the law to the Secretary of State, the Treasury Secretary, the Trade Representative and the Energy Secretary, including the waiver authority, which now rests with the Secretary of State.

India is among the largest buyers of Russian crude.

In February, Washington removed an additional 25 per cent duty on Indian goods linked to New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil, as part of a trade framework that cut the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent. The two sides are close to finalising the first tranche of a trade agreement.

In a bipartisan letter dated Thursday, Republican Congressman Michael McCaul and Democratic Congressman Jim Costa had urged Trump to implement the law fully by the deadline and asked that any waiver be “narrow, time-limited, and tied to measurable reductions in support for Russia’s war”. The waivers in Friday’s order are open-ended.

Rubio is scheduled to travel to Samarkand, Mumbai and Jamnagar from October 17 to 22. He is scheduled to hold talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Mumbai on October 20 and to visit Jamnagar refinery complex, the world’s largest.

–IANS