Trump waives the Russian energy tariffs and sanctions required by the Graham law he signed last month

Political Guyentist · October 17, 20262 min read

Bloomberg reports the penalties were blocking his push to bring down diesel prices before the Nov. 3 midterms.

Donald Trump waived the large tariffs on Russian energy exports that the Graham sanctions law requires. That law puts tariffs and sanctions on Russian energy, and Trump signed it in September. It is named for Lindsey Graham (Sen-R South Carolina), and it made the penalties mandatory unless the president used its waiver.

Bloomberg reports the White House saw the penalties as an obstacle to its effort to lower diesel prices before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

The real number. U.S. diesel averaged $6.18 a gallon the week of Oct. 12, per the Energy Information Administration (EIA). That is down from $6.53 the week of Sept. 21, the year's high in EIA's weekly series, but $2.51 above the same week a year earlier.

What we’re less sure of3 of 6 claims

Medium
The White House saw the measures as an obstacle to lowering diesel prices before the Nov. 3 midterms.
Bloomberg reports this as the White House's motive. It is a reported interpretation of intent, not a documented statement. The Nov. 3, 2026 election date is public record.
Medium
Section 115 lets the president waive the duties by written certification to Congress. The waiver needs no vote, never expires, and cannot be overturned by Congress, because Section 117's 30-day disapproval vote covers only terminations.
The statute text (sections 115 and 117(a)) is in SOURCES. However, 'never expires' and 'no built-in way to overturn' are sweeping negatives the desk infers from the text without attribution.
Medium
A separate Oct. 9 Treasury license already allows Russian diesel through April 7, 2027.
The April 2027 expiry is carried by Atlantic Digest. CFR and political.org cover the diesel deal but are not clearly confirming the exact dates. The story gives no attribution.

Red take

Trump was right to use the waiver Congress built into the law: the White House judged these tariffs an obstacle to cheaper diesel, which cost $6.18 a gallon on Oct. 12 against $3.49 in May 2025. The law named for Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican senator, kept that escape hatch for the president, and refusing to use it would rank a show of pressure on Moscow above truckers and farmers paying nearly double at the pump.

Blue take

A sanctions law Trump signed in September now binds only when he chooses: its waiver clause needs no vote, never expires, and gives Congress no built-in way to overturn it. Treasury had already licensed Russian diesel through April 7, 2027, in an Oct. 9 decision. What the waiver adds, after Bloomberg reported a midterm motive, is a lesson for Moscow that American penalties can be switched off before an election.