Donald Trump has waived new sanctions on Russia and threatened tariffs on major buyers of Russian energy, saying the measures could be suspended in the national interests of the United States.
The decision, announced late on Friday, came just days before 100% tariffs were due to be imposed on the five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas under legislation signed by the US president last month.
Mr Trump said he had notified Congress of the decision. He also suspended the law’s 500% tariffs on Russian goods and halted certain other sanctions against Moscow.
The waivers will remain in place until members of the administration “determine that further action is appropriate”, according to an executive order. Officials were instructed to monitor countries importing Russian energy and those accused of evading sanctions.
The legislation, known as the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act, was championed by the late senator Lindsey Graham, who died before it was passed. It was largely aimed at major purchasers of Russian oil and gas, including China, India and Turkey.
The European Union has also historically bought significant quantities of Russian gas, although its imports have fallen sharply in recent years.
The move follows Mr Trump’s decision a week earlier to ease sanctions on Russian diesel and announce a deal with Vladimir Putin to bring diesel into the US market.
It represents a major shift from the US policy of imposing strict restrictions on Russian oil and gas, and urging other countries to do the same, in an effort to limit the funds available to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Oil prices have remained high after rising sharply during the war with Iran, prompting Mr Trump to focus increasingly on energy supplies and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Last weekend, Mr Trump urged Moscow and Kyiv to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure and announced what he called an “energy ceasefire”. Volodymyr Zelenskyy initially said Ukraine was prepared to observe it, but later said Russian attacks had continued and that Kyiv would no longer refrain from striking Russian refineries.
Mr Trump has since criticised the Ukrainian president, saying he is “not a big fan”.
The decision to ease sanctions has faced opposition in Congress. A bipartisan group of senators described the earlier diesel waivers as a “betrayal of the people of Ukraine” and urged Mr Trump to enforce the sanctions and tariffs set out in the Graham legislation.
In a letter, the senators said the law required the administration to apply economic pressure on Russia and the countries helping its war effort, “in particular China”, to strengthen the US negotiating position and bring the conflict to an end.
