Hungary is asking U.S. officials not to levy tariffs on the central European country which still buys Russian oil, in what could be a test for the new Hungarian leader who won a landslide election victory over President Trump’s ally Viktor Orban earlier this year.
U.S. lawmakers last week passed the so-called “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” which authorizes and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran. The bill was signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday.
The law allows the President to potentially impose trade tariffs of up to 100% on countries that are large importers of Russian oil and natural gas.
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The President could “increase the rate of duty up to 100% ad valorem (i.e., relative to the value) on all goods imported into the United States from a country that was among the five largest importers of Russian-origin crude oil or natural gas if such country knowingly makes new purchases of such products after enactment of the bill.”
Hungary is one of the biggest importers of Russian crude oil, following China, India, and Turkey, and could be a potential tariff target under the new U.S. law.
For a decade and a half under Orban, Hungary has kept close ties with Russia and Putin, and refused to give up oil purchases from Russia after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Orban’s successor, Prime Minister Peter Magyar, has pledged to diversify energy imports and break the pro-Russia policy of the previous Orban governments.
Marton Hajdu, who is chair of the Foreign Policy Committee at Hungary’s Parliament and is part of Magyar’s ruling party, has just met with U.S. officials in Washington and said in a Facebook post that he asked U.S. lawmakers of both sides of the aisle to “help Hungary reduce its reliance on Russian energy and ensure its energy supply from multiple sources.”
Hajdu said he had also asked the U.S. officials not to impose tariffs on Hungary in the period in which it would be seeking to break free from Russian energy imports.
“We are building Hungarian-American relations based on long-term interests and shared values, which go beyond electoral cycles,” the Hungarian official said.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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