President Trump’s executive order implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (22 U.S.C. 10802 et seq.), dated Oct. 16 and posted by the White House just after midnight on Oct. 17, does two things in sequence. Section 2 raises the duty on goods from Russia by 500 percent ad valorem and on goods from two groups of third countries by 100 percent. Section 4 then waives every one of those duties, along with most of the Act’s sanctions provisions.
So the answer to the week’s central trade question is short. On the order’s own text, no new tariff takes effect against Russia or against any third country trading with it. What the order does build is the machinery: which agency runs which provision, a start date for counting oil and gas purchases, and a waiver that the Secretary of State can end without going back to Congress.
1. What Section 2 sets up
The Act, which the President signed on Sept. 18, 2026, provides for sanctions on foreign persons, restrictions on persons, and duties on goods from Russia “and certain other countries,” according to Section 1 of the order. Section 2 writes three duty increases into the record, each “subject to the exceptions set forth in section 114 of the Graham Act and the waivers issued in section 4 of this order.”
- Sec. 2(a): goods from the Russian Federation, plus 500 percent ad valorem.
- Sec. 2(b): goods from the largest 5 importers of Russian-origin crude oil and natural gas, plus 100 percent, if the country “knowingly makes new purchases” on or after Oct. 18, 2026.
- Sec. 2(c): goods from the “top 5 facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion,” as defined in section 113(i) of the Act, plus 100 percent.
Section 2(d) is the stacking clause. The increases would apply on top of antidumping and countervailing duties under title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930, duties under sections 122, 201 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, and Section 232 tariffs. For where those authorities stand today, see gov.house’s map of the tariff wall.
The order names no countries. It does not identify the five largest importers or the five largest facilitators, and it sets no deadline for anyone to do so. Iran appears only in the Act’s title; every operative tariff clause in the order refers to Russia.
2. What Section 4 takes away
The waiver rests on section 115 of the Act, which lets the President set aside any sanction, restriction or duty after certifying to Congress that doing so is in the national interest and sending a report explaining why. The order says both have been submitted. The report itself is not part of the published text, so the order does not state its reasons.
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.
EXCERPT · Executive order implementing the Graham Act, Sec. 4(a)
Section 4(b) waives the sanctions and restrictions in section 102(d). Section 4(c) waives sections 102(a), 102(e), 103 through 111, and 117. Section 4(b) also contains a carve-out: nothing in the order affects sanctions under the executive orders tied to the Russia national emergency the President continued on March 24, 2026 (91 Fed. Reg. 15515), as they stood the day before the Act was enacted, including everyone already designated under them.
In practice, then, the sanctions that exist today under those executive orders stay where they are, and the new layer the Act authorizes is largely switched off. The waiver lists do not name sections 102(b), 102(c) or 116(a), all of which Section 5 delegates. The order does not describe what those provisions require, so whether any of them operates now cannot be settled from this text.
The duties now exist on paper. Turning them on takes a determination, not a new law.
3. Who holds which switch
| Agency | Graham Act provisions delegated | Consults |
|---|---|---|
| State and Treasury (shared) | 102(a), 102(b), 102(c), 104(a), 108(b), 111(b), 114(a)(2); 117(a) termination of sanctions | Each other |
| State | 115 (waivers) | Treasury, USTR, as appropriate |
| Treasury | 102(e)(1), 103(a), 103(b), 103(d), 104(b), 110(a), 110(c), 116(a) | State |
| Energy | 111(a) | State, Commerce, Treasury |
| USTR | 112; 113(a); 117(a) termination of duties; monitoring under Sec. 2 and 3 | State, Treasury, Energy |
| Commerce | None | Consulted on 111(a) only |
The discretion is concentrated in two places. Under Section 4(d), the waivers stay in effect until “the President or the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Trade Representative, as appropriate,” decides further action is appropriate. Section 5(a)(ii) separately hands the section 115 waiver power itself to State. The Secretary of State can therefore end the pause, and the trigger is a judgment, not a data threshold.
USTR is the information gatekeeper. Sections 2 and 3 direct it to monitor Russian oil and gas purchases and sanctions evasion, report “regularly” to the President and “promptly” flag anything that might call for further action, “including with respect to the waivers.” No reporting date is fixed, and the order does not say the reports will be published. Commerce, home of Section 232 and export controls, gets no delegated authority under the order.
Two smaller clauses extend the order’s reach. Section 5(b) applies the delegations to any future law that is “the same or substantially the same,” and Section 5(d) covers the Act as amended. Congress can change the statute without the agencies waiting for a new order.
4. What to watch
The more likely reading is that the order turns a statute aimed at Russia’s oil customers into standing leverage held by the executive branch. Nothing in the text obliges anyone to use it, and nothing prevents its use on short notice.
- Oct. 18: the start date in Sec. 2(b) for counting “new purchases” of Russian crude and gas. The order does not say whether purchases made while the waiver stands would count if it were later lifted.
- Any Sec. 4(d) determination: a decision by the President or the Secretary of State to end some or all waivers. No date is set.
- USTR’s top-5 lists: the Sec. 2(c) report naming evasion facilitators, and any identification of the largest importers under Sec. 2(b).
- Congress: the section 115(b) certification and report have been submitted, according to the order. Whether lawmakers release them, or amend the Act, is up to them.
The order as posted carries no Federal Register citation yet. When it gets one, gov.house will update this file.
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