US President Donald Trump will use a period of up to 60 days to evaluate the economic fallout of statutory sanctions against Russia and tariffs on nations purchasing Russian energy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday, Oct. 17.
Speaking to reporters prior to departing for Uzbekistan, as reported by Reuters, Rubio characterized the administration’s executive waiver of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 as an analytical pause rather than a permanent abandonment of statutory penalties.
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“The president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the US economy,” Rubio said, emphasizing that the economic restrictions would affect numerous foreign partners beyond Russia itself.
Rubio specifically cited India, an important strategic partner of the US, observing that while New Delhi has diversified its energy sources, it remains substantially reliant on Russian crude oil imports.
The secretary of state noted that simultaneous geopolitical crises have intensified pressure on international energy markets, highlighting the compound effects of the armed conflict involving the US and Iran alongside recurring strikes by Yemen’s Houthi movement against Saudi Arabian infrastructure.
“These conflicts around the world are starting to crash into each other, and they’re having an impact not just on global oil and diesel prices” but on wider economies as well, Rubio explained.
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Defense of commercial diesel agreement
Rubio also mounted a defense of the administration’s separate bilateral arrangement with Moscow to facilitate deliveries of refined Russian diesel fuel onto international markets.
“That diesel fuel was going to be sold one way or the other. The only difference is how much of it the United States was going to get,” Rubio stated, arguing that the transaction aims to stabilize benchmark fuel prices that spiked following Middle Eastern shipping disruptions and refinery damage.
According to the secretary of state, pairing the commercial fuel agreement with the suspension of Graham Act penalties reflects the intricate diplomatic challenges of managing concurrent conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
White House diplomatic justification
The 60-day analytical timeframe outlined by Rubio provides operational context for the executive order signed by Trump on Friday, Oct. 16, which waived mandatory trade duties and secondary sanctions just 48 hours before their statutory implementation date on Sunday, Oct. 18.
In issuing the suspension, the White House invoked Section 115 of the Graham Act, which authorizes presidential waivers upon submitting a certification to Congress affirming that such deferrals advance US national interests.
White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers defended the move, asserting that immediate enforcement of the statute would impede ongoing diplomatic efforts to broker a durable peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.
Rogers stressed that the statute equips the president with negotiating leverage and noted that the executive branch retains authority to invoke the suspended measures at any point if national security dictates.
The waived statutory provisions represent some of the most stringent trade restrictions approved by Congress, including a mandatory 500 percent tariff on all Russian-origin imports alongside 100 percent duties targeting the five largest global purchasers of Russian crude oil and natural gas, such as China and India.
The law also mandates punitive trade actions against third countries facilitating petroleum sanctions evasion and secondary actions targeting Moscow’s maritime “shadow fleet.”
Condemnation from Kyiv
The administration’s decision to defer the penalties has provoked sharp criticism from Ukrainian officials and lawmakers in Washington.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the executive order on Saturday, characterizing the waiver alongside the commercial diesel agreement as a grave strategic miscalculation that directly benefits the Russian military.
Zelensky cautioned that offering unilateral economic accommodations to Moscow signals that attacks against Ukrainian civilian power networks will carry no economic consequence.
On Capitol Hill, where the Graham Act passed with overwhelming bipartisan support – including an 86–11 vote in the Senate – lawmakers across both parties criticized the postponement.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the executive order “more than irresponsible,” while Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren accused the White House of disregarding the statutory intent of Congress to offer unwarranted concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, with both the House of Representatives and the Senate adjourned for the pre-election recess until after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, congressional leaders remain procedurally constrained from advancing counter-legislation or joint resolutions of disapproval until post-election legislative sessions convene in Washington.
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