US President Will Take Up to 60 Days to Review Russia Sanctions, Rubio Says

Reuters

US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he had not made a final decision on waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, a day after issuing an order suspending the measures.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration wanted more time to assess the situation, adding that Trump would take up to 60 days to evaluate the economic impact of the Russia-related sanctions and tariffs waived on Friday.

The developments leave the future of the measures uncertain as the administration reviews their potential economic consequences.

"A lot of you don't know what my decision is yet, but we'll figure it out, and you'll figure it out," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump signed an executive order on Friday waiving key sanctions and tariffs under the Graham Act, which he signed last month at the urging of lawmakers seeking to increase pressure on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

The measures, which include tariffs on Russian goods and penalties on countries purchasing Russian oil and gas, were due to take effect next week. Friday’s order did not specify the duration of the waiver, but Rubio said Trump had opted for a 60-day review period to assess the measures’ economic impact.

"I think the president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the US economy," Rubio told reporters before boarding a plane for a trip to Uzbekistan.

The Graham Act calls not only for sanctions on Russia but also for tariffs on goods from countries importing Russian energy, adding further complexity to the issue. Rubio cited India, a key US partner that has diversified its energy sources but remains heavily reliant on Russian oil.

Rubio also defended a separate US agreement with Russia to increase diesel supplies to global markets, seeking to ease fuel prices that have risen amid the war with Iran and disruptions to energy supplies.

Under the agreement, Trump said Russia would initially supply more than 300,000 metric tonnes of diesel to the United States, with further shipments scheduled for November and beyond.

"That diesel is going to be sold one way or the other," Rubio ⁠said. "The only difference is how much of it the United States was going to get."

Rubio said the diesel deal and sanctions waiver reflected the challenge of managing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine that have disrupted global energy supplies.

"These conflicts around the world are starting to crash into each other," he said.



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