Washington puts a 60-day hold on the new Russia sanctions law two days before it was to take effect

18 October 2026

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday night suspending a sweeping sanctions package on Russia, two days before the measures were due to take effect. The legislation had been passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law in September. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the waiver would be a 60-day pause so the administration could analyse the effect of the sanctions and tariffs on the United States and the global economy. The law gave the president powers to levy tariffs of up to 100 per cent on imports from the top five purchasers of Russian oil and gas, and imposed sanctions on senior Russian figures, financial institutions and the shadow fleet of tankers. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the pause a reward for Vladimir Putin and said it came as Russia struck 15 Ukrainian energy facilities overnight. Senators Ted Cruz, John Cornyn and Thom Tillis also criticised the decision, while Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev called it a historic moment.