October 17, 2026 | Developments through Saturday morning EDT
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday, October 16, waiving major portions of a new sanctions-and-tariffs law aimed at Russia. The White House said the step was in the national interest. Ukraine's government and critics in Congress contend that withholding the measures removes pressure from Moscow while its war in Ukraine continues.
The most important distinction: The order waives measures authorized by the newly enacted law; it does not abolish all U.S. sanctions on Russia. Understanding that difference is necessary to evaluate both the administration's decision and the criticism.
What Congress passed, and when
On September 18, 2026, Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The legislation, named for the late U.S. senator, supplied additional tools for penalizing people and businesses associated with Russia and its energy exports. Sanctions restrict specified financial or commercial activity; tariffs are import taxes, generally collected from importers.
The law also created a national-interest waiver. Under Section 115, the president may set aside specified penalties after submitting a written certification and explanation to Congress. That provision matters because it means Congress authorized both the prospective pressure and a mechanism for withholding it.
What the October 16 order does
The executive order provides for new tariff rates, including a stated 500% rate on goods from Russia, and 100% rates for certain categories of large importers of Russian oil or gas and facilitators of sanctions evasion. But another section explicitly waives the application of these newly authorized duties and many sanctions provisions. Reading only the tariff figures without the waiver would give readers the wrong impression that those rates are currently being collected.
The order says the waiver continues until the president or designated senior officials determine that further action is appropriate. It also directs trade and foreign-policy officials to monitor Russian energy purchases and sanctions evasion.
A separate clause states that prior sanctions imposed under other Russia-related executive orders remain unaffected. The decision therefore suspends substantial new penalties without automatically erasing earlier restrictions.
Why the administration says it is acting
The formal order invokes the U.S. national interest and says the administration submitted the required certification and explanatory report to Congress. It does not, in its public text, provide a detailed economic model showing that withholding sanctions will improve security or lower fuel prices.
The decision follows Trump's announcement of a diesel-purchase arrangement involving Russia that the administration has portrayed as a way to address energy prices. Advocates of flexibility argue that the threat of sanctions can be useful in negotiations even when it is not immediately applied. They also argue that high tariffs can disrupt supply chains and raise costs for importing nations and American businesses.
Those are policy arguments, not demonstrated outcomes of this particular waiver.
Why Ukraine and lawmakers object
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and critics in both U.S. parties say easing prospective economic pressure may give Russia more resources and reduce its incentive to negotiate seriously. Some senators had already objected to the separate Russian diesel deal, saying it could contradict sanctions policy and reward an adversary.
The concern is especially significant because the United States and European allies have used restrictions on banks, technology and energy trade to try to constrain Russia's ability to finance its invasion, begun in February 2022. U.S. decisions can also affect the choices of countries that buy Russian energy or maintain commercial relationships with Moscow.
Russia has welcomed the waiver. That response is politically relevant, but it does not by itself settle the question of what strategy would best advance a lasting peace.
The legal and diplomatic distinction
Was the action legally authorized? The public order relies on a waiver clause the statute expressly contains and states that the administration sent the required certification. Whether procedural requirements were fully satisfied would depend on the complete official submissions and any subsequent review.
Was the action wise? That is a separate question. Defenders emphasize flexibility, negotiations and energy costs; opponents stress deterrence, leverage and allied confidence. A rigorous assessment would compare actual changes in Russian financing, diplomatic concessions, global energy prices and allied behavior rather than infer success or failure from the announcement alone.
What to watch next
The next consequential developments are whether Congress challenges the waiver or requests its supporting report; whether the administration restores or modifies penalties; how U.S. and European restrictions interact; and whether Russia changes its conduct or negotiating position.
Reader question
What evidence should a president be required to provide before waiving economic penalties that Congress passed to address an ongoing war?
