The waiver was not specific to India, which was not named in the order. It also did not remove duties imposed under other US trade laws.
Indian goods will not face additional Graham Act duties over Russian oil purchases while US President Donald Trump’s broad waiver remains in force.
The order waives duties, sanctions and restrictions under the Act, including 100 per cent hikes for major Russian energy importers.
The waiver is not India-specific and does not lift other tariffs or Russia-related sanctions; monitoring will continue.
“Pursuant to section 115(a) of the Graham Act, I hereby waive the application of any duties provided for in sections 112 and 113 of the Graham Act or this order,” Trump said in the order published by the White House.
“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,” he added.
Trump said he had signed the Graham Act into law on September 18, 2026. The legislation provided for sanctions on foreign persons, restrictions and duties on goods imported into the US from Russia and certain other countries.
Subject to the waiver and statutory exceptions, the order set out a duty increase of 500 per cent on Russian goods. It also provided for a 100 per cent increase on goods from the five largest importers of Russian-origin crude oil and natural gas if they knowingly made new purchases on or after October 18, 2026.
A further 100 per cent duty increase covered goods from countries identified as the top five facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion. However, the order waived the application of these duties.
The waivers will remain in effect until the President or the secretary of state, in consultation with the treasury secretary and the US Trade Representative as appropriate, determines that further action is warranted.
The order directed the US Trade Representative and other senior officials to continue monitoring Russian energy purchases and sanctions-evasion activities, and to report circumstances that could require further presidential action, including changes to the waivers.
It also explicitly preserved existing sanctions and other measures imposed under executive orders addressing specified harmful foreign activities of the Russian government. The relief therefore applied to the Graham Act measures and did not constitute a blanket lifting of US tariffs or Russia-related sanctions.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
