Trump blocks Russia sanctions he signed into law, claiming waiver is in the US 'national interest'
Late Friday, Trump used an executive order to immediately suspend the broad sanctions and tariffs on Russia that he had himself enacted only weeks earlier, arguing the measures run contrary to US national interests. The package, named in honour of the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, had been driven through Congress to tighten economic pressure on the Kremlin over its war in Ukraine. The move arrives a week after Trump reached a diesel agreement with Moscow, prompting urgent questions about where his Russia policy is headed.
Congress passed the Graham Act specifically to pressure Russia over Ukraine — Trump signed it, then gutted it within weeks.
Trump also waived tariffs on the largest buyers of Russian oil, shielding Moscow's key energy revenues from the sanctions regime.
The White House says the pause is in the 'national interest', but critics note the timing follows Trump's new diesel agreement with the Kremlin.
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