Trump Waives 100% Tariffs on Top Russian Oil Buyers — SkimNews
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- Trump signed an executive order Friday waiving up to 100% tariffs on goods from the five largest purchasers of Russian crude or natural gas, invoking the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act
- Trump used Section 115 of the Graham Act to certify the waiver as in the US national interest and submitted the required written certification and report to Congress
- The waiver exempts Sections 112 and 113 of the Graham Act — covering tariffs on Russian oil buyers and sanctions-evasion facilitators — but leaves other US tariffs on those countries unchanged
- Senator Richard Blumenthal slammed the move on X, saying the waivers have "nothing to do with our national security, & everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin"
- The order came days after the US reached a deal with Russia for diesel supply to American and global markets, and was issued as Secretary of State Marco Rubio began an October 17–22 visit to India
- The US Trade Representative was directed to monitor countries' Russian crude purchases and any sanctions-evasion activity, and to flag circumstances that may require further action or a waiver review
- India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had earlier told Rubio at UNGA that Indian refineries are configured for medium-sour crude from Russia and West Asia, and that disrupted West Asian supplies — affected by the Iran war — have forced India to lean harder on Russian crude
Why it matters: The waiver shields China and India — the two largest remaining Russian oil customers — from punitive tariffs at a moment when India is already leaning on Russian crude to compensate for Iran-war disruptions to West Asian supply, per the article. Combined with the parallel US-Russia diesel deal and Blumenthal's 'sucking up to Putin' rebuke, it signals a Trump administration pullback from the economic pressure the Graham Act was designed to impose on Moscow's energy revenue.
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