Washington, Amid intense criticism, the US on Sunday said the waiver of sanctions on Russia and tariffs on other countries, including India, was a 60-day pause to analyse the global impact of the measure.
Trump's cabinet colleagues Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent said the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act granted the President the flexibility to assess the situation.
"No sanctions were lifted on Friday," Bessent told NBC's Meet the Press, referring to the Executive Order signed by Trump granting a waiver from sanctions under the Graham Act passed with overwhelming bipartisan support last month.
Bessent revealed that the US had asked its European allies to impose secondary sanctions on China and India for buying Russian oil, but they refused.
"So why should the US bear the burden? President Trump, perhaps we will be in contact with our European partners. Why should the US go it alone," Bessent said, adding that European countries had waived an embargo on purchase of Russian diesel and jet fuel in May.
On Saturday evening, Secretary of State Rubio said waivers were included in the Graham Act to study the different things going around the world, such as the pressure on global energy supplies due to the Iran war, the attack of Houthis in Saudi Arabia and the Ukraine-Russia war.
"I think the president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyse what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy, and even to the US economy," Rubio told reporters before leaving on a six-day visit to Uzbekistan and India.
The executive order signed by Trump on Friday states that the waivers shall remain in effect until such time as the President or the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Trade Representative, as appropriate, determine that further action is appropriate.
Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago resort near Miami on Saturday, Trump said his decision to waive sanctions under the Graham Act would benefit the US.
"A lot of you don't know what my decision is yet, but we'll figure it out, and you'll figure it out," he said.
"It's a very good decision, and it's going to be a decision that's good for the country, and I think good for the world because we're really at a world stage," Trump said.
Bessent also accused the European nations of fuelling Russia's war on Ukraine by buying oil and gas from Moscow.
"The Europeans have given Russia and Vladimir Putin more money than they've given the Ukrainians. They continue to gorge on Russian energy," Bessent said.
"The Europeans are financing the Russian war machine. The US imports USD four billion of Russian products. USD 1.8 billion of that is fertiliser. The Europeans import more than 10 times that," Bessent said.
Trump's decision to waive sanctions on Russia came under fire from the Republicans and Democrats, who last month came together to overwhelmingly pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act.
Senator Darline Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, also criticised Trump for exempting Russia from a sanctions law that was championed by and named after her late brother Lindsey.
Indian-American lawmakers, most of whom had voted against the Graham Act, were sharply critical of Trump's decision.
"Trump's decision to waive new sanctions on Russia should leave no doubt: that is exactly what is happening," Congressman Ami Bera said on X.
"My Republican colleagues pushed hard to pass the Lindsey Graham Russia sanctions bill before we left town. They ought to be standing up and screaming at the top of their lungs that we don't side with Russia," he said.
"Trump is doing exactly what we warned: undermining Congress' authority, abandoning Ukraine, and letting Putin off the hook," Congressman Suhas Subramanyam said on X.
"Republicans refused to let us vote on stronger Russia sanctions. Now we - and our allies - are paying the price," Subramanyam said.