Several US lawmakers and politicians have accused President Donald Trump of “surrendering” to Russian President Vladimir Putin after he signed an executive order waiving sweeping sanctions and tariffs aimed at Russia’s energy revenues.
The legislation authorised Trump to impose duties of up to 100 per cent on major buyers of Russian oil and gas.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, who helped draft the Lindsey Graham Act along with late Senator Lindsey Graham, said Trump was turning his back on “the majority of Americans, their representatives in both houses of Congress, and our European allies. His decision to waive the sanctions follows a deal with Putin under which Russia would supply diesel in exchange for relief from US sanctions.
The President had signed the legislation only last month.
Republican Representative Don Bacon criticised Trump’s decision, saying the US President was “prolonging the war, not ending it”. Democratic Representative Don Beyer called the move Trump’s “latest surrender to Putin”. He said it “defies clear congressional intent of legislation designed to punish Russia for its illegal war of aggression. “Trump has proven he will twist this law and abuse the powers it conferred on him, and while he has let the tariff powers lie for the moment, the law as written also empowers Trump to weaponize new trade authorities against our allies and trading partners,” he added. California Governor Gavin Newsom also reacted to Trump’s decision, saying that “someone” was getting “paid by Putin” in response to a social media post about the move.
His decision came two days before the deadline set by the law for implementing the measures.
