Loophole closed: US does not renew waiver allowing Russian oil purchases
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (photo: Getty Images)
The Trump administration did not extend a waiver allowing the temporary purchase of Russian oil. This happened despite growing concerns over oil supply disruptions and rising fuel prices linked to the war with Iran, reports Bloomberg.
The media outlet says the waiver expiry effectively ends a short period during which the United States eased sanctions on certain types of Russian oil, allowing limited purchases. Otherwise, such transactions would have been prohibited.
In particular, the first waiver was issued by the Trump administration in March, and a second followed after it expired in April. Both waivers applied only to specific Russian oil that had already been loaded onto tankers.
The media notes that the rollback of sanctions sparked controversy, particularly among European allies, who argued that sanctions were necessary to deprive Russia of oil revenues and limit financing for its war against Ukraine.
Critics, in turn, say the easing of sanctions helped enrich Moscow. Even though the waivers applied only to oil already loaded onto tankers, Russia benefited from a sharp rise in energy prices.
At the same time, some countries, including India and Indonesia, lobbied the Trump administration to extend the waiver, as the war with Iran and the near-total closure of the Strait of Hormuz are removing millions of barrels of oil from global markets each day.
Background
In April, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington would not extend sanction waivers allowing the purchase of certain grades of Russian oil. However, two days later, the Treasury Department ultimately issued a new waiver.
Bessent told a Senate committee that the reversal came after more than 10 of the most vulnerable and energy-poor countries requested an extension.
He said the earlier steps were necessary to ensure stability in global energy markets amid the conflict in the Middle East.
Notably, by late April, the United States had fully cut off "oxygen" to Russian and Iranian oil exports, stating that Washington would no longer make concessions to aggressors to stabilize global prices.
