Hungary seeks exemption from US tariffs over Russian energy

Hungary is seeking an exemption for itself from American measures against the largest buyers of Russian energy resources. Budapest wants to avoid increased tariffs for the period while the country reduces its dependence on oil and gas supplies from Russia. This was reported by Márton Hajdu, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament.

Hajdu said he raised this issue at talks in Washington with representatives of the Republican majority in the US House of Representatives. In addition to possible tariffs, the parties discussed further inter-parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.

According to the lawmaker, the upcoming American measures pose a risk to Hungary due to the country's continued dependence on Russian energy resources. Hajdu stated that the Tisza Party recognizes the associated risks and intends to continue supply diversification, but time is needed to transition to alternative sources.

“I asked our American partners to help ensure that Hungary is exempted from this law, and that the United States supports our country's efforts to diversify energy supply,” Hajdu wrote.

This concerns the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The day before, on September 16, the House of Representatives agreed with the Senate version of the document: 262 congressmen voted in favor and 159 against. Earlier, on August 7, the Senate approved this version of the bill by a vote of 86 to 11. The document now awaits a decision by President Donald Trump.

The Trump administration already supported the Senate version of the bill in the summer. An official White House statement said that if the document reaches the president, his advisers would recommend signing it. The administration especially supported preserving broad presidential authority to grant waivers.

Tariffs could reach 100%

One of the key provisions of the bill concerns countries that continue to buy Russian oil and gas. Within 30 days after the law takes effect, the US president must impose an additional tariff of up to 100% on goods from countries that meet the criteria defined in the document. Importantly, this is not a tariff directly on Russian oil or gas, but on goods imported by the United States from the respective country.

This mechanism may apply to a country that, after the expiration of 30 days from the law’s effective date, continues new purchases of Russian oil or gas and simultaneously was among the five largest importers of these energy resources over the previous 12 months. The second ground is inclusion among the five countries that US authorities consider the largest participants in evading sanctions against Russian oil.

Thus, the bill does not automatically impose blanket 100% tariffs on all countries that continue to buy Russian energy resources. The US administration will need to identify countries meeting the established criteria, and the tariff rate can range from more than zero to 100%.

In the final Senate version, Hungary is not named. During consideration in the House of Representatives, Democrats proposed an amendment that would explicitly list China, India, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Slovakia, the UAE, Singapore, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan among countries potentially subject to tariffs. However, the House Rules Committee did not allow this amendment to be considered on the floor.

The law provides ways to obtain an exemption

For Hungary, several caveats in the text of the document are of fundamental importance. A separate exemption is provided for imports of Russian natural gas: a tariff may not be applied on this basis if the relevant country purchased less than 15% of total Russian gas exports and has taken substantial steps to reduce such imports.

In addition, the bill gives the US president the right to exempt a specific country from any of the tariffs it provides. Before granting such an exemption, the president must certify to Congress in writing that the decision serves the national interests of the United States and explain its grounds. This mechanism potentially allows Washington to exempt Hungary from tariffs even if it formally meets the law's criteria.

Hajdu began seeking such a decision even before the bill completed passage through Congress. During a trip to Washington in July, he discussed possible tariffs with representatives of both American parties. At that time, the lawmaker said that Hungary had already begun to reduce unilateral dependence on Russian energy supplies and asked American legislators not to impose restrictions on the country during the restructuring of its energy supply.

According to Hajdu, American interlocutors at the time showed understanding of Budapest's position, but also expected Hungary to genuinely reduce its dependence on Russian supplies. No public agreement on granting Hungary an exemption has been announced yet.

Based on materials from: Márton Hajdu, US House of Representatives, bill text, MTI