Trump Signs Order Waiving New Russia Sanctions

Trump Signs Order Waiving New Russia Sanctions - The New York Times

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Trump Signs Order Exempting Russia From Sanctions Law

The sanctions were part of a measure that was named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July.

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!President Trump, right, in a bright red tie, and President Vladimir V. Putin walk on a red carpet on a tarmac.

*President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last year in Alaska.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times*

By Alan Rappeport

Reporting from Washington

Oct. 16, 2026

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President Trump signed an executive order on Friday night exempting Russia from a new sanctions measure that Congress passed last month, offering another economic lifeline to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin as the United States turns to Russia for help in lowering gas prices.

The sanctions were intended to target Russian officials, oligarchs and financial institutions, and were part of a law that was named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July after spending more than a year building support for the measure.

The law, which is intended to squeeze the financial lifelines sustaining Russia’s war against Ukraine, also provided Mr. Trump with additional tariff authority that he could use to punish countries that continue to trade with Russia.

The White House has broad authority to issue sanctions exemptions or waivers, and the new law requires Mr. Trump to notify Congress only if he opts against imposing the economic restrictions on Russia. Two days before the law is set to take effect, Mr. Trump exercised that power.

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“I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions and duties provided for in the Graham Act,” Mr. Trump said in the order. “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 order does not explain why waiving the sanctions is in the interests of the United States or what rationale Mr. Trump is providing to Congress for the waivers.

Alan Rappeport is an economic policy reporter for The Times, based in Washington. He covers the Treasury Department and writes about taxes, trade and fiscal matters.

A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 18, 2026, Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Trump’s Order Exempts Russia From Sanctions. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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