Trump Pauses Russia Sanctions Days Before Deadline
US President Donald Trump has put on hold a broad package of sanctions on Russia he signed into law last month. He signed an executive order on Oct. 16 pausing the measures, two days before they were due to take effect, Al Jazeera reported.
Trump told Congress the pause is in the national interest. The White House lists an order titled "Implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026" dated Oct. 16, 2026.
The law allowed the president to waive, or set aside, the sanctions by informing Congress of a determination that enforcement is not in the national interest, Reuters reported. The deadline to either impose the measures or waive them was Oct. 18, according to The Guardian.
The legislation was named for Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died unexpectedly in July after returning from Ukraine. It was drafted by Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal and passed the House of Representatives and the Senate by large margins.
The law sought sanctions, or restrictions on trade and financial dealings, against Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers carrying Russian energy. A shadow fleet in this context refers to the tankers identified in the law as carrying that energy.
It directed Trump to impose tariffs, or taxes on imported goods, of up to 100 percent on the five biggest importers of Russian oil or gas. That tariff instruction was central to the enforcement effort, since it would have applied pressure not only to Russia but to countries that continue to buy its energy.
The law also provided an exception for countries that import less than 15 percent of Russia's natural gas exports and are taking steps to reduce those imports. Those countries could have avoided the tariffs if they met both conditions.
The pause came a week after Trump said the United States had signed a deal to buy diesel fuel from Russia to lower global fuel prices. The administration has not described further details of that purchase in the material reviewed for this story.
Democratic Rep. Don Beyer said Congress should fix the law to stop Trump from capitulating to Putin and to ensure it supports Ukraine. His comments reflect opposition from lawmakers who backed the original legislation and want its requirements to remain binding.
