Executive Order of October 16, 2026: Implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026
President: Donald J. Trump
Waives the Graham Act duties and specified sanctions while assigning agency responsibilities and continued monitoring. It does not lift all Russia sanctions.
Status: In effect.
Is the executive order of October 16, 2026 still in effect? Yes. Its waivers, delegations and monitoring directions operate under the signed text. Section 4(d) keeps the waivers in place until the President or the Secretary of State, with the specified consultations, determines that further action is appropriate.
No executive-order number was displayed in the White House text or verified in the Federal Register’s 2026 listing when checked on October 17, 2026. This guide uses the signing date, not an inferred number.
What does the order do?
The order implements the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 and immediately uses its waiver authority. Section 2 describes additional duties of 500 percent on Russian goods and 100 percent on specified countries connected with Russian energy purchases or sanctions evasion. But section 4(a) waives the application of those duties. Reading the rates without the waiver would give the wrong practical answer.
Section 4 also waives specified sanctions and restrictions under the Act. The President states that the required national-interest certifications and explanatory reports have been submitted to Congress. The order expressly preserves earlier executive-order measures addressing specified harmful Russian government activities. This is a waiver under a new statute, not a general cancellation of existing sanctions.
Before and after
Congress enacted Public Law 119-111 on September 18, 2026. Its section 115 permits the President to waive a sanctions provision, restriction or duty under title I, but requires a written national-interest certification and an explanatory report to Congress before a waiver. The October 16 order uses that statutory mechanism rather than repealing the Act.
The distinction matters to importers and businesses considering transactions. A waiver of duties under this Act is not an exemption from every tariff, and a waiver of specified sanctions provisions is not permission to disregard independent restrictions. Section 2(d) describes the new rates as additional to other applicable charges; section 4(b) separately protects earlier Russia measures. Readers should check the authority governing their particular transaction, rather than treating the order’s title as a complete compliance answer.
Who had to do what
| Agency / official | Direction or delegated responsibility | Deadline / timing |
|---|---|---|
| President | Issues the section 4 waivers and states that the congressional certifications and reports have been submitted. May determine that further action concerning the waivers is appropriate. | Waivers issued October 16, 2026; no fixed expiration date in section 4(d). |
| United States Trade Representative | Monitor Russian-origin oil and gas purchases and sanctions-evasion facilitation with State, Treasury and Energy; regularly report and promptly flag possible further action. Exercise delegated sections 112 and 113(a) duty authorities and the section 117(a) authority to terminate duties, with the specified consultations. | Regular reporting and prompt notification; no numerical reporting interval. Section 2(b) refers to qualifying new purchases on or after October 18, 2026, but section 4 waives the duties. |
| Secretary of State | Consult on monitoring and duty authorities; share the section 5(a)(i) delegations with Treasury. Exercise section 115 waiver authority with Treasury and the Trade Representative as appropriate; share delegated termination authority for sanctions and restrictions. State pays publication costs. | Ongoing or when the relevant statutory authority is exercised; no separate numerical deadline in the order. |
| Secretary of the Treasury | Consult on monitoring, waivers and duty authorities; share the section 5(a)(i) delegations with State. Exercise the authorities listed in section 5(a)(iii), including specified sanctions and implementation powers, with State consultation; share delegated termination authority for sanctions and restrictions. | No separate numerical deadline; the Act’s applicable conditions remain relevant. |
| Secretary of Energy | Consult on monitoring, section 113(a) duties and termination of duties. Exercise delegated section 111(a) uranium-import authority in consultation with State, Commerce and Treasury. | No separate numerical deadline in the order. |
| Secretary of Commerce | Consult with Energy, State and Treasury on Energy’s exercise of delegated section 111(a) authority. | When that authority is exercised; no separate numerical deadline. |
| All executive departments and agencies; other senior officials selected by the Trade Representative | Departments and agencies must take appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the order. Selected senior officials participate in monitoring consultations. State, Treasury, Energy and the Trade Representative may lawfully redelegate their assigned functions internally. | As implementation requires; no new fixed deadline. OMB’s existing functions are preserved, not assigned a separate new project. |
The table distinguishes the President’s actions at signing, continuing monitoring and conditional statutory powers. It does not claim that later agency rules, country lists or enforcement actions have already been issued.
Waivers are different from statutory exceptions and termination
Section 114 of the Act contains exceptions independent of the October 16 waiver. These include humanitarian transactions involving food, medicine and medical devices; specified intelligence and law-enforcement activities; official government business; qualifying pre-existing Treasury general licenses; and certain nuclear, space-launch and vessel-safety activities. Each exception has its own wording and limits. The guide does not treat every energy or humanitarian transaction as automatically unrestricted.
Section 117 separately governs termination and includes congressional reporting and review requirements. The October 16 action instead invokes section 115. A waiver under that provision should not be described as a finding that every condition for statutory termination has been met. Nor does the Act’s reference to Iran mean this order cancels all Iran sanctions.
What happened next
Public Law 119-111 was enacted, including the waiver authority in section 115.
The President signed this order, issued its waivers and delegated implementation functions.
The White House signed text and Federal Register 2026 listing were checked. The listing still ended at EO 14435; a number or Federal Register publication for this order was not verified.
Future purchase-date trigger specified in section 2(b). This is not a claim that the waived 100 percent duties will be collected on that date.
How it works legally
The signed text relies on the Graham Act and 3 U.S.C. 301 for delegations. Its general provisions preserve existing agency authority and OMB functions, require lawful implementation subject to available appropriations, and create no privately enforceable right or benefit. Its severability clause preserves unaffected provisions if a particular application is invalidated.
Primary sources
- White House — complete signed order, October 16, 2026, sections 1–7.
- Government Publishing Office — Public Law 119-111, September 18, 2026, particularly sections 114–117. The exceptions and waiver/termination mechanisms above were checked against the statute.
- Federal Register — 2026 executive-order listing, checked October 17, 2026 for a published number.
How we checked this
Checked all operative sections of the White House text, the statute’s exceptions, waiver and termination provisions, and the Federal Register listing on October 17, 2026. No later agency outcome or court ruling is inferred from the signing. Research method →