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Russia sanctions pause to assess impact on India, global energy prices, says Trump official
Rubio pointed to severe disruptions to global energy prices already caused by the Ukraine war, the Iran war and Houthi military strikes on Saudi Arabia.
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The Trump administration will take a 60-day pause to understand the implications of placing vast new sanctions on Russia and its trading partners like India for the global economy, said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday. Explaining the Trump administration’s decision this week to waive sanctions on Russia under the Lindsey Graham act, Rubio pointed to severe disruptions to global energy prices already caused by the Ukraine war, the Iran war and Houthi military strikes on Saudi Arabia.
“I think when the bill was passed, one of the reasons the waivers were put in there was understanding that they would need some period of time to study this, given all the different things that are going on in the world right now, including the pressure on global energy supplies that are happening. Not just because of Iran and not just because of the Strait of Hormuz, but increasingly because of the Houthis attacking Saudi Arabia and because of the war with Ukraine and Russia, where energy infrastructure is being hit. And so that's having an impact on global prices as well. So I think you have to take all of that into account and weigh it against each other,” said Rubio to reporters just ahead of his visit to Uzbekistan and India.
The American Secretary of State also pointed out that the Graham Act’s provisions - which gave the President the authority to place up to 100% tariffs on the top five purchasers of Russian energy - could also target US partners like India.
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“And then you've got countries like India, for example, that have voluntarily diversified their energy portfolio but are still getting a substantial amount of energy from Russia because it's hard to pivot from one day to the next. But they're also an important ally and partner of the United States. So we need that period of time to sort of study all this and figure out what the right combination is,” Rubio added.
Just a month after signing the Lindsey Graham Act into law, President Trump on Friday used a waiver provision in the Graham Act to hold off tariffs of up to 100% that the law would otherwise have triggered against India and four other countries for buying Russian oil and gas. The order also waived a number of sanctions aimed at Russia and its economic partners, on national interest grounds and until further notice.
Besides tariffs on the top five purchases of Russian oil and gas, the act also gave the President legal authority to increase tariffs on Russian exports to the US up to 500% and up to 100% on the top five countries helping Russia evade oil sanctions. The act also included punishing new sanctions targeting Russian financial institutions and their international partners in an effort to pressure Moscow into ending the Ukraine war.
The waivers also followed a concerted move to bring down domestic energy prices in the US ahead of crucial midterm elections on November 3. The Trump administration announced a controversial diesel supply deal with Russia last week which could see Moscow supply 5 million tonnes of diesel to the US and global economy in the coming months. President Trump explicitly linked the Russia deal to his efforts to secure lower energy prices for American consumers.
