Rubio: Trump to take up to 60 days to assess impact of Russia sanctions waiver

What happened

Trump invoked the Act's Section 115 presidential waiver authority and certified to Congress that the waiver was in the national interest. The waived measures include tariffs on Russian goods and penalties targeting countries that keep buying Russian oil and gas.

Speaking to reporters before boarding a flight to Uzbekistan, Rubio said: "I think the president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the US economy." Trump said on Oct 17 at Mar-a-Lago in Florida: "A lot of you don't know what my decision is yet, but we'll figure it out... 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."

Diesel deal and energy prices

Rubio also defended a separate agreement with Russia to increase diesel supplies: Russia would initially supply more than 300,000 metric tons to the US, with more shipments in November and beyond. He pointed to overlapping conflicts — the war involving Iran and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia — pushing up global energy prices; Brent crude closed Friday at $109.86 a barrel, its highest since May 20.

Rubio called India an "important ally," acknowledging that while India has voluntarily diversified its energy sources, it still relies heavily on Russian energy and "it's hard to pivot from one day to the next." The waiver also spares India from punitive tariffs over its Russian oil purchases. US lawmakers from both parties sharply criticized the waiver.