Move offers relief to Indian refiners amid West Asia conflict; decision comes ahead of U.S. midterm elections
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday (October 17, 2026) waived key provisions of a new law that authorised punitive tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil, offering relief to India.
The ‘Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026’ (SRIA Act), ratified on September 18, authorised increasing tariffs on countries continuing to buy Russian oil by as much as 100% as Washington sought to tighten Moscow’s oil revenues.
The waiver announced on Saturday (October 17, 2026) assures Indian refiners of greater flexibility to continue to purchase oil from Moscow, with supplies from West Asia affected because of the resurgence of conflict.
Ahead of trade talks
The decision by Mr. Trump that comes just ahead of the October 18 deadline set by the Congress for a determination on sanctions is also expected to ease the discussions during U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Mumbai and Jamnagar from October 20 to 22, when he will meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
Asked whether Mr. Jaishankar would discuss the sanctions or the diesel deal with Mr. Rubio, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday (October 16) that energy would be on the agenda. India had “always advocated for stability in global energy markets”, he said.
‘Helpful for India’
The Ministry of External Affairs had not responded to a request for comment on the Trump administration’s decision at the time of the filing, though an official termed the development “helpful” for India.
The official said that after the SRIA Act was ratified in September, the Indian government had taken a tougher stance than it did in the past. It conveyed to Washington the “implications” of imposing sanctions on India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Days after the legislation was signed into law, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had also said that India could not stop buying Russian oil, as doing so could raise global oil prices and alternative sources were limited amid the conflict in the Gulf.
The oil basket conundrum
Russian crude accounted for more than 50% of India’s oil imports in July, though it fell to 44% in August, with more volumes coming in from the UAE and the U.S.
Moscow’s share declined further to about 35% in September, according to data from real-time analytics provider Kpler.
Other than India, China is among the top purchasers of Russian oil — accounting for about 30% of its import basket.
The availability of Russian oil — now without any threat of sanctions — could ease the supply situation in the global oil market, which has been facing a crunch because of the resurgence in conflict in West Asia.
Benchmark Brent crude futures closed 0.8% higher at $109.95 a barrel on Friday (October 16).
Moreover, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) earlier this week also lowered its forecast for growth in global oil demand in 2026 by 0.2 million barrels per day (md/b) from 0.4 mb/d it estimated a month earlier.
U.S. midterms a priority
An early indication of Washington’s decision came this week with Mr. Trump’s announcement of a diesel deal with Russia, indicating that rising prices in the U.S. were now a bigger priority than punishing Russia and countries like India for energy trade.
Prices of diesel and gasoline in the U.S. surged in the recent past, more importantly, ahead of the midterm elections.
In fact, the Paris-headquartered International Energy Agency (IEA) has also indicated that continued disruptions to diesel exports from West Asia, compounded by lower supply from Russia and some Asian countries, have reduced global availability by 1.5 million barrels per day in the second half of the calendar year.
Trump waives sanction threat over Russian oil purchases
Move offers relief to Indian refiners amid West Asia conflict; decision comes ahead of U.S. midterm elections
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday (October 17, 2026) waived key provisions of a new law that authorised punitive tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil, offering relief to India.
The ‘Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026’ (SRIA Act), ratified on September 18, authorised increasing tariffs on countries continuing to buy Russian oil by as much as 100% as Washington sought to tighten Moscow’s oil revenues.
The waiver announced on Saturday (October 17, 2026) assures Indian refiners of greater flexibility to continue to purchase oil from Moscow, with supplies from West Asia affected because of the resurgence of conflict.
Ahead of trade talks
The decision by Mr. Trump that comes just ahead of the October 18 deadline set by the Congress for a determination on sanctions is also expected to ease the discussions during U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to Mumbai and Jamnagar from October 20 to 22, when he will meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
Asked whether Mr. Jaishankar would discuss the sanctions or the diesel deal with Mr. Rubio, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday (October 16) that energy would be on the agenda. India had “always advocated for stability in global energy markets”, he said.
‘Helpful for India’
The Ministry of External Affairs had not responded to a request for comment on the Trump administration’s decision at the time of the filing, though an official termed the development “helpful” for India.
The official said that after the SRIA Act was ratified in September, the Indian government had taken a tougher stance than it did in the past. It conveyed to Washington the “implications” of imposing sanctions on India’s purchases of Russian oil.
Days after the legislation was signed into law, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had also said that India could not stop buying Russian oil, as doing so could raise global oil prices and alternative sources were limited amid the conflict in the Gulf.
The oil basket conundrum
Russian crude accounted for more than 50% of India’s oil imports in July, though it fell to 44% in August, with more volumes coming in from the UAE and the U.S.
Moscow’s share declined further to about 35% in September, according to data from real-time analytics provider Kpler.
Other than India, China is among the top purchasers of Russian oil — accounting for about 30% of its import basket.
The availability of Russian oil — now without any threat of sanctions — could ease the supply situation in the global oil market, which has been facing a crunch because of the resurgence in conflict in West Asia.
Benchmark Brent crude futures closed 0.8% higher at $109.95 a barrel on Friday (October 16).
Moreover, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) earlier this week also lowered its forecast for growth in global oil demand in 2026 by 0.2 million barrels per day (md/b) from 0.4 mb/d it estimated a month earlier.
U.S. midterms a priority
An early indication of Washington’s decision came this week with Mr. Trump’s announcement of a diesel deal with Russia, indicating that rising prices in the U.S. were now a bigger priority than punishing Russia and countries like India for energy trade.
Prices of diesel and gasoline in the U.S. surged in the recent past, more importantly, ahead of the midterm elections.
In fact, the Paris-headquartered International Energy Agency (IEA) has also indicated that continued disruptions to diesel exports from West Asia, compounded by lower supply from Russia and some Asian countries, have reduced global availability by 1.5 million barrels per day in the second half of the calendar year.
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