On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump used an executive order. He paused new sanctions against Russia. He says the move is in the national interest of the United States.
On September 18, President Trump signed legislation named after the late South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham. The Graham Act targeted countries such as China and India that bought oil and gas from Russia. It allowed the president to put tariffs on goods from those countries. This discouraged those countries from buying fuel from Russia.
The goal was to shrink Russia’s income. That way, Russia would eventually lack the resources needed to continue waging war against Ukraine. The bill had supporters from all political sides.
By suspending the sanctions, President Trump has given Russia a “financial lifeline,” wrote New Hampshire senator Jeanne Shaheen and six other senators.
A week before he paused the sanctions, President Trump announced that the United States had agreed to start purchasing diesel from Russia. He wants to bring global energy prices down. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fears that the United States’ financial support will only encourage Russia to continue its attacks on Ukraine.
“I think the president, understandably, is focused on diesel prices,” Texas senator Ted Cruz says. “But there are other ways to address gas and diesel prices.”
President Trump says that Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil and gas infrastructure have caused fuel prices to rise. But many politicians point to the war in Iran as a larger factor in raising prices.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the pause will last 60 days while the president analyzes the effect on the U.S. and global economy.
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