Trump waives Graham Act tariffs on buyers of Russian oil

What happened

A week after the Treasury licensed Russian diesel, President Trump on Friday 16 October waived the Graham Act's tariffs on the biggest buyers of Russian oil, two days before they were due. ^{[1, 3, 6]}

The executive order waives every duty in the law: up to 500 percent on goods from Russia, and up to 100 percent on goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil and gas. It also waives the law's sanctions, including those on foreign banks doing business with Russian state banks, ABC News reported. ^{[1, 2, 3]}

The law lets the President waive any of its measures once he certifies in writing to Congress that the waiver serves the national interest, with a report explaining why. The order says both were sent, and ABC News reported that it gave no further detail. ^{[1, 2, 3]}

Why it matters

The order suspends the measures rather than repealing them: it sets the duties and then holds them, so they can be applied later, Bloomberg reported. The waivers last until the President or the Secretary of State decides further action is appropriate, with no end date. ^{[1, 4]}

Without the waiver, the 100 percent duty would have reached goods from any of the five largest buyers that knowingly made new purchases of Russian crude or gas from Sunday 18 October. ^{[1, 2]}

What stays in place

Sanctions under earlier executive orders on Russia stay in force, the order says. ABC News reported that the order also waives the clause of the law that kept those sanctions in place, leaving the President free to act on them alone. ^{[1, 2, 3]}

The waiver covers only this law's duties and does not affect other US tariffs on goods from those countries, The Tribune reported. Ending a measure on Russia outright is a separate path in the law, which requires a peace agreement Ukraine accepts and gives Congress 30 days to block it. ^{[5, 2]}

Who the buyers are

India took about 1.82 million barrels a day of Russian crude in September and China about 1.49 million, according to ship tracking data PTI reported. Analysts told PTI that India is expected to keep buying at close to current levels. ^[6]

The order names no country. Bloomberg named China, India and Turkey as the top purchasers of Russian energy, while the PTI report ranked India, China, Italy, Turkey and the Netherlands for seaborne crude. ^{[1, 4, 6]}

What settles it next

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday 17 October that the President wants 60 days to study what the sanctions and tariffs would mean for the global and US economies. He was due in India on Monday 19 October, on a six-day trip that began in Uzbekistan, The Tribune reported. ^[7]

The order had not appeared on the Federal Register's public inspection list by Monday 19 October. The Trade Representative is to keep watching Russian oil and gas purchases and tell the President when further action may be needed, the order says. ^{[8, 1]}

Who it reaches

Valero Energy (VLO) is adjacent: it files that its 15 refineries make gasolines and distillates, sold mainly in the United States, Canada, Britain, Ireland and Latin America. Without the waiver, the law would have required tariffs on Russian petroleum products such as diesel, ABC News reported. ^{[9, 3]}