🔍 A bill passed 86–11 was stopped by a single executive order
Late Friday night, Trump signed an executive order that suspended nearly all the tariff and sanctions provisions in the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act. It invoked the national-interest waiver built into the bill.
The law was signed and took effect on September 18. After Graham died on July 11, the Senate named the bill after him and passed it 86–11. It required the president to act within 30 days: impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five countries importing Russian crude oil and natural gas, and the same level of tariffs on the top five entities facilitating sanctions evasion for Russian oil. The effective date was set for October 18.
Two days short, it was stopped.
Trump told reporters the pause was indefinite. Rubio offered a different timeline on Saturday, saying they would take 60 days to assess the economic impact. Same action, two timelines.
Moscow was pleased. Putin’s economic envoy, Dmitriev, wrote on X that this was “an important and truly historic moment.” In Congress, the reaction was different. Rick Scott said, “That’s not the first thing I would do.” Tillis called it “extremely irresponsible,” then asked: “What part of a bill the Senate passed 86–11 did the president and his advisers not understand?” Cornyn said, “Lindsey would be furious.” Graham’s sister Darline, who took his seat, publicly voiced her disagreement on Saturday. Pence called for the measure to be reinstated.
But no one can do anything right away. Both chambers are in recess until after the November 3 election.
The waiver was supposed to bring prices down, but the numbers don’t add up. From Friday night to Sunday, Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones. An oil terminal in St. Petersburg caught fire; it exports about 120,000 barrels of refined products a day. At the same time, two tankers were attacked 78 nautical miles northeast of Jubail, Saudi Arabia. One was hit by a rocket.
Brent settled at $108.82 on Sunday, down $1.04. WTI was at $101.15, down $0.26. The average price of diesel in the U.S. is still above $6 a gallon. That part hasn’t eased.
For people in crypto, the 100% tariff was secondary. The provision covering “entities facilitating sanctions evasion” was the one with teeth. Payment channels, ship-to-ship transfers, and on-chain settlements all fall under that definition. That provision was suspended along with the tariffs.
Over the past two weeks, the Strait of Hormuz has been burning, tankers have been hit, and a sanctions bill passed 86–11 has been put on hold—yet BTC has moved just 0.5% in 24 hours. As I write this, six price feeds put it between $81,648 and $81,749. ETH is between $2,390 and $2,394.
Sanctions have always been treated as a constant in compliance systems. A list is a list, an address is an address: scan it and get a score. This weekend, they became a variable with a time limit—60 days, renewable or revocable, and subject to another reversal if diesel prices move again. A list can be withdrawn; an address can’t. During these 60 days, every system running off the old lists will have to recalculate its exposure.
$BTC $ETH
#中本聪国际社区Baoluo币商资本 #Bitcoin #GrahamAct
Late Friday night, Trump signed an executive order that suspended nearly all the tariff and sanctions provisions in the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act. It invoked the national-interest waiver built into the bill.
The law was signed and took effect on September 18. After Graham died on July 11, the Senate named the bill after him and passed it 86–11. It required the president to act within 30 days: impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five countries importing Russian crude oil and natural gas, and the same level of tariffs on the top five entities facilitating sanctions evasion for Russian oil. The effective date was set for October 18.
Two days short, it was stopped.
Trump told reporters the pause was indefinite. Rubio offered a different timeline on Saturday, saying they would take 60 days to assess the economic impact. Same action, two timelines.
Moscow was pleased. Putin’s economic envoy, Dmitriev, wrote on X that this was “an important and truly historic moment.” In Congress, the reaction was different. Rick Scott said, “That’s not the first thing I would do.” Tillis called it “extremely irresponsible,” then asked: “What part of a bill the Senate passed 86–11 did the president and his advisers not understand?” Cornyn said, “Lindsey would be furious.” Graham’s sister Darline, who took his seat, publicly voiced her disagreement on Saturday. Pence called for the measure to be reinstated.
But no one can do anything right away. Both chambers are in recess until after the November 3 election.
The waiver was supposed to bring prices down, but the numbers don’t add up. From Friday night to Sunday, Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones. An oil terminal in St. Petersburg caught fire; it exports about 120,000 barrels of refined products a day. At the same time, two tankers were attacked 78 nautical miles northeast of Jubail, Saudi Arabia. One was hit by a rocket.
Brent settled at $108.82 on Sunday, down $1.04. WTI was at $101.15, down $0.26. The average price of diesel in the U.S. is still above $6 a gallon. That part hasn’t eased.
For people in crypto, the 100% tariff was secondary. The provision covering “entities facilitating sanctions evasion” was the one with teeth. Payment channels, ship-to-ship transfers, and on-chain settlements all fall under that definition. That provision was suspended along with the tariffs.
Over the past two weeks, the Strait of Hormuz has been burning, tankers have been hit, and a sanctions bill passed 86–11 has been put on hold—yet BTC has moved just 0.5% in 24 hours. As I write this, six price feeds put it between $81,648 and $81,749. ETH is between $2,390 and $2,394.
Sanctions have always been treated as a constant in compliance systems. A list is a list, an address is an address: scan it and get a score. This weekend, they became a variable with a time limit—60 days, renewable or revocable, and subject to another reversal if diesel prices move again. A list can be withdrawn; an address can’t. During these 60 days, every system running off the old lists will have to recalculate its exposure.
$BTC $ETH
#中本聪国际社区Baoluo币商资本 #Bitcoin #GrahamAct