Washington: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the waiver from sanctions on Russia and tariffs on other countries, including India, was a 60-day pause to analyse the global impact of the measure.
Rubio was responding to questions Saturday evening at Joint Base Andrews near here as he left for a six-day tour of Uzbekistan and India.
“I think the president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyse what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy, and even to the US economy,” Rubio said in response to a question on the waivers granted by Trump under the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act or the Graham Act.
On Friday, Trump waived key provisions of the Graham Act that authorised punitive tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil, offering relief to India.
The executive order signed by Trump Friday states that the waivers shall remain in effect until such time as the President or the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Trade Representative, as appropriate, determine that further action is appropriate.
Speaking to reporters at Mar-a-Lago resort near Miami, Trump said his decision to waive sanctions under the Graham Act would benefit the US.
“A lot of you don’t know what my decision is yet, but we’ll figure it out, and you’ll figure it out,” he said.
“It’s a very good decision, and it’s going to be a decision that’s good for the country, and I think good for the world because we’re really at a world stage,” Trump said.
Rubio said when the Graham Act was passed, the waivers were put in to study the different things going around the world such as the pressure on global energy supplies due to the Iran war, the attack of Houthis in Saudi Arabia and the Ukraine-Russia war.
“So I think you have to take all of that into account and weigh it against each other,” Rubio said.
“Then you’ve got countries like India, for example, that have voluntarily diversified their energy portfolio, but are still getting a substantial amount of energy from Russia because it’s hard to pivot from one day to the next,” said the Secretary of State, who is scheduled to be in India Monday.
Rubio said India is an important ally and partner of the United States, and the president needs that period of time to sort of study all this and figure out what the right combination is.
Trump’s decision to waive sanctions on Russia came under fire from the Republicans and Democrats, who last month came together to overwhelmingly pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act.
Senator Darline Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, also criticised Trump for exempting Russia from a sanctions law that was championed by and named after her late brother Lindsey.
“Personally, I would choose to put the pressure on Russia to end the war and get gas prices down, because I don’t trust Putin, and I don’t trust Russia,” said Graham, who was endorsed by Trump to fill in the Senate seat that fell vacant due to the death of her brother.
“Beyond irresponsible,” said Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, on social media.
“What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand,” Tillis said.
“It’s unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine,” he said.
Tillis said that if Trump wants to actually bring down energy prices, he should resolve the Iran war, which is largely blamed for the spike at the pump, and not do a solid for Vladimir Putin.
Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas said, “Lindsey would be appalled, referring to the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who worked endlessly on the bill before he died this summer.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat from Massachusetts, said Trump is thumbing his nose at Congress and enabling Vladimir Putin to continue his war of aggression. She urged her colleagues to take action to reverse course.
