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US President Donald Trump has waived several sanctions related to Russian fuel sales that were to take effect under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, a month after signing the Bill.
The law, which has now been paused, would have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on goods brought into the US from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas which includes India and China. The move comes amid a diesel deal with Russia in the backdrop of soaring diesel prices in the United States ahead of the November midterm elections. Trump invoked Section 115 of the Graham Act, which authorises the President to waive the application of any sanctions provision with respect to a foreign person, any restriction with respect to a person, and any duty under the law. "I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification, consistent with section 115(b) of the Graham Act," Trump said in the order. He waived the application of any duties provided for in sections 112 and 113 of the Act, which allowed Trump to increase the rate of duty on all goods imported into the United States from Russia to a rate of up to 500 per cent ad valorem (relative to the value). It also allowed a duty up to 100 per cent ad valorem from the five largest importers of Russian-origin crude oil or natural gas. This comes after Trump announced a diesel deal with Russia, under which he said Russia would immediately supply more than 3,00,000 tonnes of diesel fuel, followed by another 5,00,000 tonnes during November and 1 million tonnes immediately thereafter. In a Truth Social post, he said a further 3 million tonnes would follow within a short period, depending on the condition of Russia's diesel refineries. Trump has hailed the diesel deal with Russia as a "big deal", thanking Putin for agreeing to supply "massive amounts" of diesel to the United States. India had expressed concerns to Washington over the "Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026" amid a lurking threat of tariff imposition. On Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated India's stance on global market stability amid the US-Russia diesel deal. "As far as the diesel deal is concerned, we do not wish to comment on commercial arrangements that have been made between two countries, except to say that we have always advocated for stability in global energy markets," Randhir Jaiswal stated. At the same time, Jaiswal noted that India has directly raised its objections regarding American legal measures targeting Russian trade ties, specifically the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act (SRIA). "We have already conveyed to the US side our concerns regarding the SRIA legislation," he said. (ANI)
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