White House officials announced that U.S. President Donald Trump has suspended the new sanctions package against Russia established by the U.S. Congress.
The policy, which was intended to enact tariffs of up to 100 percent on the five largest importers of Russian oil and gas, was set to go into effect on Sunday under the “Graham Act”-a law Trump signed late last month. However, the legislation allows the President to temporarily halt parts of the restrictions if he notifies Congress that delaying the sanctions is “in the national interest of the United States.” Trump utilized an executive order to implement this postponement.
He informed Congress of this decision and also revoked the 500-percent tariffs on various Russian goods while stopping several other sanctions targeting Russia. These suspensions are set to remain in place until government officials determine that further measures are appropriate. Furthermore, Trump instructed his administration to monitor countries that currently import Russian energy or are attempting to bypass the sanctions.
The act, named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham, primarily targeted major buyers of Russian oil and gas, including China, India, and Turkey. This move comes after Trump recently announced a diesel deal with Russia, which had caused public disagreement. Meanwhile, the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine continues to deteriorate, with Trump recently demanding the replacement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
