Donald Trump set aside tariff and sanctions provisions that had been directed at nations purchasing Russian energy exports, a move that extended to India the removal of trade penalties that could have reached duties of up to 100 per cent on imports from countries sourcing crude oil and natural gas from Russia. An executive order carrying that directive was signed on 16 October, placing the action only a handful of days ahead of when fresh penalties under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 had been scheduled to enter into force.

The waiver aligned with United States national interests, according to a statement from Trump. No country-specific carve-out underlies the decision.

Certain tariff and sanctions provisions within the legislation are placed on hold by the measure, opening the door to potential advantages for large-scale buyers of Russian energy supplies, China among them. Aimed at tightening financial strain on Russia over its military campaign in Ukraine, the bill included clauses that would let the United States impose penalties on nations continuing to purchase Russian energy exports.

No decision to lift the exemption has been made, leaving it active pending a determination by the president or other senior administration figures.

Under the Graham Act, which received presidential assent on 18 September, duties of as much as 100 per cent could be levied on goods flowing in from whichever five countries had purchased the largest volumes of Russian crude oil or natural gas, provided those purchases occurred after the deadline the legislation specified. Measures targeting countries believed to have helped Russia sidestep its international trade restrictions were folded into the legislative package as well. Enforcement of those measures was set to begin on 18 October, a timeline that drew attention to nations still drawing heavily on Russian energy to meet their needs.

New Delhi had put Washington on notice that any additional tariff measures stood to strain the two countries' bilateral ties — a position reflecting India's standing as one of Russia's largest oil customers. Officials in New Delhi have put forward a rationale for their energy procurement choices centred on affordability, supply security, and the economic demands of a large, expanding population.

Expanded volumes of cut-price Russian crude found their way into Indian refineries following the onset of Moscow's full-scale military campaign against Ukraine in 2022, a pattern of energy commerce that has periodically strained relations between New Delhi and Washington.

Tasked with tracking foreign purchases of Russian oil and natural gas, the US Trade Representative — drawing on coordination across multiple government departments — will submit periodic updates on those findings directly to the president, as set out in the executive order. That waiver option remains available, with officials free to revisit and act on it should conditions be judged to warrant a different course.

Concerns about persistently high energy costs — and what tighter restrictions on worldwide oil supply might mean for prices — also form part of the backdrop to the decision. Economists and market observers had noted that the newly introduced tariffs carried the potential to intensify inflationary pressure at a time when households were already contending with elevated energy bills.

For nations such as India, the waiver removes a pressing near-term exposure, though what US policy toward Russian energy trade will look like over a longer horizon remains an open question.