Trump signs an executive order exempting Russia from sanctions approved by Congress

Listen to the article. The audio text is automated, generated by an automated system

On Friday, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending the implementation of a package of sanctions and customs duties imposed on Russia under a law passed by Congress and signed last month, justifying the move as serving the “national interest” of the United States.

The executive order stipulated the suspension of the application of the sanctions, restrictions, and fees contained in what is known as the Lindsey Graham Law, which was aimed at tightening the stranglehold on the financial resources that finance the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump said in the executive order that he had provided Congress with certification that issuing this exemption at this time “serves the national interests of the United States.”

The law, which bears the name of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, stipulates the imposition of customs duties of up to 100 percent within 30 days on goods imported into the United States from the five largest countries importing Russian crude oil or gas. It also targets countries that buy Russian oil or gas or help Moscow evade sanctions.

The law targets the Russian energy and defense sectors, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as the so-called “shadow fleet” of Russian oil tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.

Trump signed the Lindsey Graham Punishment of Russia and Iran Act of 2026 in mid-September, before issuing the current exemption days before a number of its measures took effect.

The move comes in light of indications of a rapprochement between Trump and Moscow, as the US President had previously publicly criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and hinted at the need for a new leadership in Ukraine.

It also comes a week after Trump announced that the United States had agreed to buy Russian diesel in an attempt to reduce global energy prices, a move that sparked criticism because of its potential repercussions on Ukraine.

Some countries, including India, the largest buyer of Russian oil, have previously expressed concerns about the draft sanctions law and its possible effects on global energy trade.