Trump Offers Putin Economic Relief in Hopes That Russia Will Return the Favor

For years, critics of President Trump accused him of welcoming help from Russia to tilt elections in his favor. Now, with midterm elections in the United States two weeks away, Mr. Trump is explicitly seeking economic support from Russia.

A week ago, the Trump administration announced that it was lifting sanctions on Russian diesel exports. Late on Friday night, the White House released an executive order exempting Russia from a sanctions law that Congress passed last month. The moves were a last-ditch effort to lower the soaring gas prices in America that polls show are turning voters against Mr. Trump and Republican candidates.

Ukraine has frustrated Mr. Trump in recent months with its attacks on Russian oil refineries, which he blames for high global energy prices. Although the attacks have disrupted global energy supplies, oil prices have been climbing since the United States attacked Iran at the end of February, leading to violence across the Middle East and clogging the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Gas prices on Saturday averaged $4.31 a gallon in the United States, according to the AAA motor club, up nearly 45 percent since the start of the war.

The crumbling of years of work by the United States to put economic pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine raises questions about the Trump administration’s strategy to broker a peace deal. Mr. Trump’s executive order on Friday comes as the administration is pushing for Europe to resume buying more Russian gas, as part of the peace deal.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/17/business/trump-russia-sanctions-congress.html