US Pauses Russia Sanctions Law Tariffs for 60-Day Review: What the Waiver Means for India
On 16 October 2026, the US President signed an executive order that waived (set aside for now) the key parts of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, often called the Graham Act. The law was signed on 18 September 2026 and its penalties were due to start on 18 October.
The law allowed tariffs (import taxes) of up to 500% on Russian goods, and up to 100% on goods from the top five buyers of Russian crude oil and gas, and from the top five countries helping Russia avoid oil sanctions. India and China, among the biggest buyers, faced the 100% duty.
The order formally sets out the duties but suspends them at once. It waives the duties in Sections 112 and 113 of the Act and most sanctions on foreign persons. Existing US sanctions on Russia stay in place.
The US Secretary of State said the President wants about 60 days to study the impact on global and US energy markets and on tariffs affecting countries such as India. He pointed to pressure on energy supplies from the conflict involving Iran, attacks in Saudi Arabia and the Russia-Ukraine war.
He called India "an important ally and partner" that has diversified its energy supplies on its own but still depends heavily on Russian energy.
The waiver stays until the President or the Secretary of State (consulting the Treasury Secretary and the Trade Representative) decides further action is needed. So the tariff threat on India is paused, not removed.
Economic Sanctions: Primary vs Secondary Sanctions
Economic sanctions are penalties that one country, or a group of countries, puts on another country to force it to change its behaviour, using money and trade instead of weapons. Primary sanctions stop a country's own citizens and companies from dealing with the target. Secondary sanctions go one step further: they punish third countries and their companies for dealing with the target. A waiver is a legal permission that switches off a sanction for some time or for some countries without repealing the law.
The Graham Act is a clear case of secondary pressure: it targets not Russia alone but countries like India that buy Russian oil. The President's order shows how a waiver works in practice: the duties exist on paper but are switched off, and can be switched back on later.
India's Energy Security and Import Dependence
Energy security means a country can always get the energy it needs, at a price it can afford. For India, the core issue is oil, since it imports almost nine out of every ten barrels of crude it uses. Any sanction, war or price spike abroad therefore affects fuel prices, inflation and the rupee at home. India reduces this risk by buying from many suppliers and building emergency stocks.
The US Secretary of State's comment that India cannot quickly switch away from Russian energy is the energy security problem in one line. The 60-day pause gives India time, but the threat of tariffs keeps pressure on its oil buying choices.
Strategic Autonomy: India's Foreign Policy Doctrine
Strategic autonomy means India makes its foreign policy decisions on the basis of its own national interest, without letting any single big power or military alliance decide for it. India can be a close partner of the US and a long-time friend of Russia at the same time. It grew out of the older idea of non-alignment and today is often described as multi-alignment: working with many partners on different issues.
The Graham Act tariffs would have tested India's strategic autonomy directly, by putting a price on its oil ties with Russia. The waiver eases that pressure for now, while the US keeps the option to reapply it after its review.
- Law: Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, signed 18 September 2026; passed the US Senate 86-11
- Penalties were due from 18 October 2026; waived by executive order on 16 October 2026
- Tariffs under the law: up to 500% on Russian goods; up to 100% on top five buyers of Russian crude and gas and top five sanctions-evasion facilitators
- Sections waived for duties: Sections 112 and 113
- Review period: about 60 days, as stated by the US Secretary of State
- Law's Russia provisions scheduled to expire in 2031
- US tariff on Indian goods for Russian oil purchases: extra 25% from 27 August 2025 (total 50%); later cut to 18% under a February 2026 framework
- CAATSA: 2017; Section 231; used against Turkey on 14 December 2020
- India's crude import dependence: about 88.7% (2025-26, provisional); Russia about one-third of crude imports (September 2026)