President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday, October 17, 2026, waiving significant new sanctions and tariffs on Russia that were mandated by the Graham Act. These measures were scheduled to take effect in just two days. This marks the second time in recent weeks that President Trump has opted to waive sanctions on Russia, a move he has linked to seeking Russian President Vladimir Putin's assistance in addressing rising global diesel prices.

The decision has intensified existing tensions between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has expressed concerns over the waivers. The Graham Act, passed by Congress with substantial bipartisan support and signed into law by President Trump last month, was largely designed to target Russian political figures, oligarchs, financial institutions, and the tanker fleet utilized to circumvent sanctions.

Senator Lindsey Graham, who heavily advocated for the law before his sudden death in July, had aimed to impose a range of penalties. The law, however, included provisions allowing the president to waive these sanctions. President Trump's executive order, issued on Friday, declared the waivers to be in the national interest, though additional specifics were not provided in the order itself.

The waiver effectively nullifies several key provisions of the act concerning Russia. This includes a mandate to impose tariffs of up to 500% on Russian goods, such as oil and gas, and tariffs of up to 100% on major purchasers of Russian crude oil and natural gas, as well as countries facilitating Russia's evasion of oil sanctions. Additionally, sanctions on foreign banks dealing with Russian state-owned banks and financial messaging services, along with bans on Russian sovereign debt purchases and U.S. investments in Russia, were waived.

This action follows a recent move by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which issued a general license authorizing the import of Russian diesel into the U.S. This is part of an agreement where Russia would supply substantial amounts of diesel to the U.S. and international markets. Without the waiver, the Graham Act would have imposed tariffs on Russian petroleum products and sanctioned vessels involved in their transport.

Several senators, including Republicans Mitch McConnell, Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, and John Cornyn, had previously urged President Trump to reject the diesel deal and enforce the sanctions. The current executive order does not alter sanctions previously imposed through separate executive orders.

However, the order critically waives a statutory provision that mandated the continuation of those existing sanctions, thereby enabling the president to act unilaterally on them. The waivers granted on Friday are set to remain in effect, the duration of which was not specified in the announcement.