Relief for India? Trump waives some Russia-related tariffs as deadline nears

“As described further in Section 4 of this order, I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions, and duties provided for in the Graham Act. I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver at this time is in the national interests of the United States,” the White House said in a statement.

However, the move does not permanently scrap the proposed Russia-related tariffs. Their implementation has only been suspended, leaving Trump free to impose them at a later date.

Trump signed the Graham Act into law on September 18, 2026.

“The Graham Act provided for the imposition of certain sanctions with respect to foreign persons, restrictions with respect to persons, and duties with respect to goods imported into the United States from the Russian Federation and certain other countries,” the White House said.

Section 115 of the legislation authorises the President to waive sanctions against foreign persons, restrictions on individuals and duties on goods, provided he submits a written certification to Congress stating that the waiver is in the national interests of the United States.

The President is also required to submit a report explaining the basis for the certification.

The legislation was named after US Senator Lindsey Graham, who died in July and was one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters in Washington.

The measure gave the US 30 days to impose 100 per cent tariffs on goods from the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil, including India and China.

The 30-day deadline was due to expire on October 18.