A 60-day window to weigh sanctions and tariffs
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that President Donald Trump's decision to set aside broad sanctions and tariffs on Russia would run for 60 days, describing the interval as a chance to study how those measures would ripple through the world economy and the United States. Rubio noted that the restrictions touch several countries, not only Russia, and pointed to overlapping conflicts affecting energy markets, including the US war on Iran and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.[S1]
According to Rubio, those conflicts are increasingly colliding and are pushing up not only worldwide crude and diesel prices but also weighing on national economies. He stressed the importance of diesel, the fuel that underpins American trucking, farming and construction, and argued that Russian diesel would reach world markets regardless, with the only variable being how much of it the United States secures.[S1]
Lawmakers from both parties push back
Trump signed the executive order on Friday, two days before the sanctions law was scheduled to take effect. The measure, passed in September and signed by Trump, targeted Russian officials, oligarchs and financial institutions and gave the president authority to sanction major purchasers of Russian oil and gas, with the aim of choking off funding for Vladimir Putin's supporters and his war in Ukraine.[S1]
The move drew sharp criticism from lawmakers in both parties. Republican Senator Thom Tillis, a frequent Trump critic who is set to leave office in January, called it beyond irresponsible in a post on X and argued that the president could lower energy prices by addressing the Iran problem rather than by helping Putin. Ted Cruz, a senior Republican senator from Texas, described the decision as a mistake in comments broadcast on Fox News.[S1]
Diesel deal and election-season pressure
The executive order followed a deal Trump struck with Putin that would permit exports of Russian diesel in return for an easing of sanctions. Steep increases in diesel prices caused by the Iran war are beginning to feed into the US economy, and worries about the cost of living are foremost for voters ahead of key midterm elections next month. Polls indicate that Trump's Republicans are likely to fare badly at the ballot box.[S1]
Trump said late on Saturday that his decision would benefit the United States, though it remained unclear whether he had settled on the matter, and he suggested that the outcome would become clear in time. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he feared Washington would lift further sanctions on Russia and that Trump's action rewards Putin.[S1][S2]
