Trump waives ‘bone-crushing’ Russia sanctions

The US president has invoked a national-interest exemption to suspend sweeping penalties under the Lindsey Graham bill US President Donald Trump has suspended sweeping new sanctions against Russia that he signed into law just a month ago, invoking a national-interest exemption to waive penalties targeting Moscow’s economy and countries purchasing Russian energy. In an executive order issued on Friday, Trump waived sanctions and tariffs mandated by the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, including proposed 500% tariffs on imports from Russia and 100% tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas. “I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver is in the national interests of the United States and a report explaining the basis for the certification,” Trump wrote.

China and India, the two largest buyers of Russian crude oil, were expected to be among the countries hardest hit by the legislation. From Russian oil to Starlink: How the US is redrawing its Ukraine playbook The bill, championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, has been described by supporters as a “bone-crushing” measure aimed at driving Russian energy exports out of the global market. Hawkish US lawmakers argued that existing restrictions had allowed Moscow to circumvent economic pressure. Trump lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports earlier this month in an effort to curb rising energy prices ahead of the US midterm elections. The move sparked outrage in Ukraine and among America’s European allies, prompting a bipartisan group of US senators to accuse Trump of betraying Kiev. According to US media reports, Trump decided to ease sanctions after Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky refused to halt strikes on Russian energy facilities, which Trump blamed…