Trump gets new tariff powers to pressure Russian oil buyers, says Rubio
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said President Donald Trump sees tariffs as a key tool of national policy, and that a new US sanctions law gives him the authority to use them to influence the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The remarks came after Trump signed a law authorising tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries buying Russian oil and gas, including India and China.
Rubio said the law gives Trump a new policy instrument that could also be used in relation to Iran. His comments came after a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who raised with him India’s “interests and concerns” over the Russia sanctions legislation.
Last Friday, Trump signed into law the ‘Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026’. The law is named after late Senator Lindsey Graham, who had proposed a sanctions Bill that sought to impose 500 per cent tariffs on countries buying Russian oil.
“The law gives the President tariff authority. It’s the first time I think in like 70 years that Congress has granted the President tariff authority. The President is a very strong believer in tariffs as a tool of national policy. So this is good,” Rubio told reporters.
Responding to a question on the sanctions law, Rubio said it also gives the President national security waivers, allowing him to apply them as needed in individual cases. “So, what the president has now is a tool in his toolbox that he could use not just to influence what happens in Russia-Ukraine and in that conflict, but potentially what’s happening with Iran as well. How he’ll use it is up to him to decide and up to him to announce,” Rubio said at a press conference after his meeting with Jaishankar.
In his address to world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump said he had signed the “powerful new law” that gives him “enormous new tariff authorities” on major buyers of Russian oil, including India and China. “Last week, in honour of Senator Lindsey Graham, I signed a powerful new law passed by Congress providing me with enormous new tariff authorities - and if necessary, I will use them,” Trump said. “It is time to stop the killing.”
India has said it remains firmly committed to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people and will continue to do so through diversified sourcing, in response to the US legislation. The new law gives Trump tariff powers and waiver provisions that Washington says could be used in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and potentially in relation to Iran.
