Donald Trump, the President of the United States, on Friday used his legal authority to exempt the enforcement of key sections of new sanctions related to Russia by issuing an executive order. The White House announced that this decision was made in the interest of U.S. national security.
Details of the Russia and Iran Sanctions Law
In mid-September, Trump signed a law known as the "Lindsey Graham Russia and Iran Sanctions Act of 2026," which aimed to increase economic pressure on Moscow due to its military invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Under this law, the U.S. could impose tariffs of up to 100% on all goods imported from the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil or gas within 30 days.
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These restrictions also included countries that knowingly continued to purchase Russian oil and gas after 30 days from the law's enactment or were among the top five countries aiding in circumventing Moscow's sanctions. However, Trump decided to halt these measures just days before they were set to take effect.
Reactions and Consequences
According to the executive order released by the White House, the exemption from sanctions enforcement will continue as long as Trump or senior officials in his administration determine that further actions are necessary. In this order, he stated: "I have provided the necessary certification to Congress indicating that issuing such an exemption at this time is in the national interest of the United States."
This decision was made just a few weeks before the U.S. midterm elections, in which Republicans face a tough competition to maintain their fragile majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Analysts say that enforcing new sanctions against buyers of Russian oil and gas could have driven global oil prices even higher.
Trump's decision has faced criticism from some members of the Democratic Party. Don Beyer, a Democratic representative from Virginia, accused the President of capitulating to Vladimir Putin, stating: "Trump's latest surrender to Putin is yet another betrayal of our Ukrainian partners."
With the halt of new sanctions enforcement, the U.S. government will not currently utilize one of the most significant economic pressure tools planned against Russia and its trading partners. These developments reflect a shift in the Trump administration's priorities regarding the Ukraine war and internal pressures on the White House.
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