Trump Exempts Russia Sanctions, Tariffs in Graham Act

The exemptions strip the bill's enforcement teeth, since the secondary tariffs were the mechanism meant to deter third countries from buying Russian energy. That matters most for major importers of Russian crude, and for the sanctions architecture itself: a regime that grants carve-outs before penalties take effect signals that escalation remains conditional and reversible. Whether Congress moves to make the tariffs mandatory, or whether the exemptions widen, is the open question.