# [WARNING] Trump Waives Russia ‘Hellish Sanctions,’ Opening Path to New Energy Deals, Envoy Says

*Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 8:12 AM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Detected**: 2026-10-17T08:12:39.716Z (2h ago)
**Tags**: US, Russia, Sanctions, Energy, Oil, UkraineWar, TradePolicy
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/alerts/27008.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Summary**: Between 07:04 and 07:24 UTC, reports confirm President Trump has suspended the Graham Act’s toughest Russia measures, blocking 500% tariffs on Russian goods and punitive tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas, while Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev says Washington and Moscow are actively discussing diesel, uranium, fertilizer, metals and Arctic LNG projects. The move abruptly undercuts expectations of a severe US clampdown on Russian energy revenues, reshaping risk calculations for oil markets, sanctions policy and Ukraine’s leverage.

## Detail

President Trump has moved in the early hours of 17 October to halt the sharp escalation of US sanctions on Russia that markets and governments had been bracing for.

From 07:04 to 07:24 UTC, multiple reports detail that Trump has signed an executive order and issued waivers preventing the Graham Act’s most severe measures from taking effect. The law, due to bite around 18 October, authorized:
- A 500% tariff on Russian-origin goods entering the US; and
- Additional tariffs of up to 100% on goods imported into the US from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas.

Trump formally notified Congress that waiving these measures is in the US “national interest” but, according to the reports, has not publicly explained the rationale. The suspension remains in force until his administration determines that applying the sanctions again serves US interests.

In parallel, at 07:53–08:02 UTC, Putin’s envoy for talks with the US, Kirill Dmitriev, told Russian media that Moscow and Washington are in active discussions on a “whole range” of economic and investment projects. He singled out:
- A ‘diesel deal’ as one such project, calling it extremely important for the US and the world;
- Expanded Russian exports to the US beyond uranium, including fertilizers, aluminum and rare earth metals; and
- Joint work on Arctic, energy and LNG projects.

Dmitriev further claimed that the US Treasury had asked the Russian Direct Investment Fund to help execute the diesel deal, including payments and technical issues. He argued that growing hostility from Ukraine toward US–Russia deals had backfired by worsening Kyiv–Washington relations and that more US officials now see sanctions as harming US interests.

If accurate, these moves amount to a major policy swerve: instead of tightening financial and trade pressure on Moscow’s energy revenues, Washington is pausing escalation and exploring selective energy cooperation. For Ukraine, this signals a potential erosion of sanctions leverage at a time when military pressure around cities like Dobropillya is intensifying and European funding debates are hardening.

Human and industry stakes are tangible. European allies and Ukraine’s leadership will read this as a weakening of the Western sanctions front, possibly complicating unity within NATO and the EU. Energy traders, refiners, shipping firms, and insurers that had positioned for aggressive secondary sanctions on Russian barrels and gas flows to key Asian and Middle Eastern buyers must now recalibrate exposure and legal risk. Fertilizer and metal markets may also need to adjust if Russian supply to the US stays more open than anticipated.

Strategically, a softer US stance on sanctions could embolden Moscow to sustain or expand operations in Ukraine, banking on continued energy cash flows and new commercial channels. It may also open space for Russia to drive wedges between Washington and European capitals that favor harder-line economic containment.

Market pressure points in the coming 24–48 hours include: crude benchmarks that had priced a sanctions shock; the ruble and Russian-related sovereign and corporate credit; shares of alternative oil and LNG suppliers that benefited from tighter Russia constraints; and EU political reactions that could bring new unilateral or coordinated packages to keep pressure on Moscow. Watch for formal US Treasury guidance, EU Commission statements, and any confirmatory documentation around the reported diesel and uranium deals.

If this policy line holds, the medium-term balance of power in the Russia–Ukraine war will tilt more toward battlefield outcomes and less toward financial strangulation, with global energy flows remaining more stable but Western political cohesion under new strain.

**MARKET IMPACT ASSESSMENT:**
Eases immediate upside pressure on crude and products by reducing perceived near-term disruption to Russian oil revenues and secondary sanctions on key buyers; bearish to neutral for oil vs prior expectations, modestly supportive for RUB and Russian assets, potentially negative for select alternative suppliers that had priced in tighter sanctions. Could weigh on defense names tied to prolonged Russia isolation and complicate EU energy policy expectations.