Trump waives Russia law’s debt ban before other deadlines

President Donald Trump’s Oct. 16 executive order waives specified sanctions, restrictions and duties under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The measures include the law’s ban on U.S. persons purchasing Russian sovereign debt, which took effect when the Act was enacted on Sept. 18.

The timing sets the debt restriction apart from many other provisions: the order came two days before Oct. 18, the date corresponding to several 30-day deadlines in the law. It waives listed measures, rather than repealing the Act or ending every U.S. measure concerning Russia.

Which parts of the law are waived

The order waives the sanctions provision and restrictions in section 102(d). It also waives sanctions provisions and restrictions in sections 102(a) and 102(e), sections 103 through 111, and section 117. Section 102 is covered only in subsections (a), (d) and (e), not in its entirety.

Section 109, among the provisions covered, prohibits U.S. persons—including U.S. financial institutions—from purchasing Russian government sovereign debt. That prohibition applied upon enactment on Sept. 18. The order therefore waives a measure that had already taken effect, while coming before the Oct. 18 date associated with many other provisions.

The listed waivers cover specified sanctions and restrictions affecting people and entities subject to those provisions. They do not establish that all provisions of the new law, or all U.S. sanctions on Russia, have ended. The order also says specified measures under earlier executive orders concerning Russia remain unaffected.

Order waives duties it sets out

The Act addresses duties on goods imported from Russia and, under section 113, goods imported from countries meeting specified criteria related to Russian-origin crude oil or natural gas purchases or sanctions evasion. The order’s section 2 sets out duty increases: rates of duty are to be increased by 500 percent ad valorem for goods from Russia and by 100 percent ad valorem for goods from two specified country categories.

The 100 percent increase applies to goods from the five largest importers of Russian-origin crude oil and natural gas if those countries knowingly make new purchases on or after Oct. 18, 2026. It also applies to goods from the top five facilitators of Russian oil-sanctions evasion.

Those increases are not presented as duties left in force by the order. Section 4(a) waives duties provided for by Act sections 112 and 113, as well as duties provided for by the order itself. The order thus sets out duty increases while also waiving the specified statutory and order-provided duties.

Waiver authority and duration

Section 115 of the Act requires a written national-interest certification and a report explaining its basis to be submitted to Congress before a waiver. The order describes the waiver as in the national interest and states that Trump submitted both documents. That statement records the order’s account of the procedure; it does not establish that Congress approved the waiver.

The order invokes the waiver authority in the Act rather than amending or repealing it. It sets no fixed expiration date: the waivers remain in effect until the president or the secretary of state, in consultation with the secretary of the Treasury and the U.S. trade representative as appropriate, determines that further action is appropriate.

Lawmakers from both parties criticized the order, according to the Associated Press and Axios. Axios identified Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer among the critics. The reported criticism does not establish a unanimous position within either party.