Rubio says Trump will use 60-day Russia sanctions pause to assess economic impact
The US secretary of state said Trump wants to examine how sanctions and tariffs would affect the global and US economies. Zelenskyy warned that easing pressure could encourage Russia to intensify its war.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump would use a 60-day pause in US sanctions and tariffs targeting Russia to assess their effects on the global and US economies, France 24 reported on October 18. The explanation gives a stated economic rationale for a decision that Ukraine’s president says could ease pressure on Moscow during the war.
Trump announced the pause on Friday, October 16, after Congress passed the sanctions package, telling lawmakers it was in the national interest, according to The Guardian. Rubio said the proposed restrictions would involve several countries, not Russia alone: the president wanted time to examine what imposing both sanctions and tariffs would mean for their economies and for the United States.
Why Rubio cited global energy prices
Rubio pointed to conflicts affecting energy costs, including the US war on Iran and attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Houthis. He said those conflicts were colliding in their effects on oil and diesel prices and on economies more broadly. His account framed the pause as an assessment of the wider consequences of the proposed measures, rather than a decision confined to trade with Russia.
The Guardian described the package as including sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, financial institutions and oil-tanker fleet, along with a 100% tariff on major importers of Russian oil, including China and India. Those provisions help explain why Rubio said the economic effects would extend beyond Russia. The full legal terms of the waiver were not established in the reports.
Zelenskyy urges Washington to restore pressure on Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, October 17, that waiving the measures could encourage Vladimir Putin to intensify the war, The Guardian reported. He called for US support to put the law into effect, saying it could still help pressure Russia to end the fighting. His criticism followed a major Russian strike on Ukraine’s energy facilities, as described by The Guardian.
Trump said late Saturday that his decision would benefit the United States, France 24 reported, though the outlet said it remained unclear whether he had settled his position. Rubio’s 60-day description sets out a period for assessing the measures’ impact; neither report establishes what Trump will decide after that period.
Read in depth: World
Trump pauses Russia sanctions as watchdog identifies 134 gas-trade vessels
An executive order delayed sanctions due to take effect two days later. Urgewald says Russian gas shipments have continued since the law was signed.
First Guangdong yachts arrive in Hong Kong under new southbound scheme
Five yachts from Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Guangzhou entered Hong Kong under new cross-boundary rules for mainland leisure vessels.
Sources and context
- Rubio says Trump to 'analyze' global impact of Russia sanctions during pauseFrance 24 (with AFP; source footer credits France 24 with AFP)
- Trump’s pause on Russia sanctions is ‘reward’ for Putin, Zelenskyy saysThe Guardian
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.