Trump Waives Russia Oil Tariffs Under Graham Act, Rubio Says Review Will Run Up to 60 Days

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday, Oct. 16, waiving key sanctions and tariffs under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act. The penalties were due to take effect this coming week.

On Saturday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration wants up to 60 days to study what the measures would do. That points to a decision window running to roughly mid-December.

What the waiver does

Trump invoked Section 115, the Act's waiver clause. The law lets the president raise tariffs on Russian exports to the U.S. by up to 500%. It also allows tariffs of up to 100% on the top five buyers of Russian energy: India, China, Azerbaijan, Slovakia and Hungary.

The order does not set an end date. It stays in force until the president, or the secretary of state in consultation with the Treasury secretary and the trade representative, decides further action is needed. The measures are deferred, not repealed, and Trump can revive them whenever he chooses.

Trump signed the Graham Act last month at the urging of lawmakers who want to pressure Moscow over the war in Ukraine. Asked about the waiver Saturday at Mar-a-Lago, he did not say what comes next. "A lot of you don't know what my decision is yet, but we'll figure it out, and you'll figure it out," Trump told reporters.

Rubio's explanation

Rubio spoke before boarding a plane for Uzbekistan and India. He said the law covers more than Russia.

"These sanctions were not just sanctions on Russia. They include tariffs on a number of countries—India, for example, and others. And so I think the president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyse what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the US economy," he said.

Rubio said waivers were written into the Act so the administration could weigh global developments. He named the Iran war, Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia and the Russia-Ukraine war.

On India, he said: "Then you've got countries like India, for example, that have voluntarily diversified their energy portfolio, but are still getting a substantial amount of energy from Russia because it's hard to pivot from one day to the next." He called India an important ally and partner.

The waiver also follows a diesel supply deal with Moscow that Trump announced last week. Trump said he reached it in a phone call with Vladimir Putin.

Oil prices and the political clock

Energy costs are the backdrop. Brent crude settled Friday at $109.86 a barrel, up 3.7%, and West Texas Intermediate closed at $101.41, up 3.5%, according to Reuters. Traders are worried about shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iran war drags on.

Vice President JD Vance told a CBS town hall Saturday that gas prices "would be three times as high if it weren't for the United States Navy keeping oil and gas moving out of the Strait of Hormuz."

The waiver lands weeks before the November midterms, with Trump under pressure over fuel prices.

Pushback from Kyiv and the Senate

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized the order, warning it would embolden Putin and prolong the war.

Sen. Darline Graham, a South Carolina Republican whose late brother Lindsey championed the law, said she disagrees with the decision. She plans to raise it with Trump when he campaigns for her next week.

"Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia," she told reporters Saturday.

India was already cutting Russian crude

Indian refiners cut Russian purchases before the waiver. Industry executives cited by the Hindustan Times say India's Russian crude imports have fallen to about 1.8 million barrels a day, down from roughly 2.7 million in July 2026. Russian oil reached nearly a third of India's crude imports in 2025-26.

Refiners have shifted to suppliers in the U.S., West Africa, South America and the Middle East. The switch has been expensive.

Data from India's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell show the country's crude import bill rose 31.6% in September to $15.4 billion, from $11.7 billion in August. The average price of the Indian crude basket jumped from $90.19 a barrel to $116.09. For April through September, the import bill is up 46.4% to $90.6 billion.

India's finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has said giving more ground in trade talks with Washington would be "very, very difficult." Trade, tariffs and oil are all on the table when Rubio arrives.

What comes next

Rubio is scheduled to meet Indian officials early this week. Energy cooperation, trade and strategic ties are expected to dominate.

The clock starts with Friday's order. If Trump lets the 60 days run, the Graham Act's tariff threat against India and the other four buyers returns around mid-December. He could also revive it sooner.