U.S. Extends Russia Oil Waiver
- The U.S. extended a sanctions waiver allowing purchases of Russian oil after requests from more than ten countries. - Officials said over ten countries requested the waiver, prompting Washington to relax enforcement temporarily. - The extension shows multilateral compromise to cushion energy shocks while reducing sanctions leverage for policy pressure (moneycontrol.com).
The Trump administration extended a U.S. sanctions waiver on Russian oil for another month after appeals from more than 10 energy-vulnerable countries. (ofac.treasury.gov) The Treasury Department’s new license, issued on April 17, lets buyers complete sales, delivery and offloading of Russian crude and petroleum products loaded on vessels by 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time that day. The waiver runs through 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on May 16. (ofac.treasury.gov) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told senators on April 22 that finance officials from more than 10 of the “most vulnerable and poorest” countries asked Washington to keep the relief in place. He said the request came during last week’s International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings. (france24.com) The waiver covers oil already at sea, not new unrestricted Russian exports. It keeps a narrow channel open so cargoes loaded before the cutoff can still be sold without triggering U.S. penalties. (ofac.treasury.gov) Washington first opened that channel on March 12 with General License 134, after an earlier India-specific license on March 5. The April 17 action, called General License 134B, replaced the 30-day waiver that expired on April 11. (ofac.treasury.gov) The administration tied the extension to oil-market stress during the Iran war and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping chokepoint for global crude. Reuters reported the White House used the waiver to try to limit another jump in energy prices. (usnews.com) That tradeoff cuts against the original sanctions goal of squeezing Moscow’s oil revenue as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. Senate Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Jeanne Shaheen and Chuck Schumer said on April 17 that the extension reduced pressure on the Kremlin and reversed Bessent’s earlier public position. (banking.senate.gov) Bessent had said just two days earlier that the administration would not renew the Russian oil license. By April 22, he was defending the reversal as a response to requests from poorer countries facing supply risk. (foreign.senate.gov) The license also excludes a separate set of sanctioned actors and programs tied to Iran, Cuba and North Korea, so it is not a blanket suspension of oil sanctions. The immediate question now is whether Washington lets the waiver lapse on May 16 or extends it again if prices stay high. (ofac.treasury.gov)
