A sanctions waiver on Russian seaborne oil expired after the Treasury Department declined to renew General License 134B, taking effect May 16. The expired authorization had temporarily allowed certain transactions involving Russian oil cargoes already loaded onto tankers before sanctions deadlines. The change affects countries such as India that had continued purchasing Russian crude despite Western efforts to reduce Moscow’s wartime revenues. Administration officials said the waiver was a temporary safeguard to prevent a deeper global energy shock as Middle East fighting raised oil prices and threatened shipping routes. Critics in Washington and Kyiv argued the policy provided Russia financial relief while the United States and European allies sought tighter economic pressure over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
"The Trump administration has allowed a controversial waiver on sanctions targeting Russian seaborne oil to expire, reimposing restrictions that had temporarily enabled countries such as India to continue purchasing Russian crude despite Western efforts to curb Moscow's wartime revenues."
"The move, which took effect on May 16 after the Treasury Department declined to renew General License 134B, highlights the increasingly difficult balance Washington faces between tightening pressure on the Kremlin and preventing further disruption to global energy markets already rattled by the Iran conflict and instability around the Strait of Hormuz."
"The waiver, first introduced in March and extended in April, permitted transactions involving certain Russian oil cargoes that had already been loaded onto tankers before sanctions deadlines took effect."
"“Treasury must finally end its ill-conceived policy of helping Russia make even more money from President [Donald] Trump's reckless war in Iran,” the senators said in a joint statement."
Read at RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
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