Trump Allows 4.8 mm Tonnes of Diesel Import from Russia in Violation of US Law, Move will Ease Prices

[ABS News Service/12.10.2026]

President Trump announced an agreement with Vladimir Putin on Friday to release up to 4.8 million tonnes of Russian diesel to US and global markets, reversing pressure on Moscow’s energy revenues just three weeks after signing legislation intended to strengthen it and possibly violating US sanctions laws.

The agreement comes as the administration seeks to lower fuel prices before November’s midterm elections.

Mr. Trump said Russia would supply more than 300,000 tonnes immediately, another 500,000 tonnes in November and one million tonnes thereafter. A further three million tonnes would depend on the condition of Russia’s refineries.

The announcement presents the fuel as relief for consumers while reopening a source of revenue that Congress and European governments have sought to restrict during Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Likely Illegal

Sen. Thom Tillis ®-NC) said yesterday that the President’s deal with Russia is likely illegal. “I do believe there's a legitimate case for saying the president's not following the law,” he said in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) called the President’s action a “failure to follow the law and the bipartisan will of Congress that only weeks ago passed legislation aimed at cutting off revenue for Russia’s war machine and curbing purchases of Russian oil and gas.”

But Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted on Fox News that the President has the authority to make the deal and critics are wrong.

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135 on Friday, authorizing transactions involving the sale, delivery, offloading and importation of Russian diesel, expressly including imports into the United States, until April 7, 2027. The authorization covers transactions otherwise prohibited under two U.S. sanctions regulations.

Conflict with Sanctions

The action creates a direct policy conflict with the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, signed September 18.

That conflict does not, by itself, establish a violation of the Graham Act. Section 114(h) preserves Treasury’s authority to extend or issue general licenses. Section 115 also permits presidential waivers, subject to a written national-interest certification and an explanatory report to Congress.

By contrast, section 117 conditions termination of sanctions against Russia on a Ukrainian-approved peace agreement and an end to hostilities, with congressional review. The statute therefore distinguishes temporary relief from termination of sanctions.

A separate Biden-era statute raises a more specific question about imports into the United States. The Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, enacted April 8, 2022, bans Russian products classified under chapter 27 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, which includes petroleum fuels. The prohibition is statutory, rather than solely an executive-branch restriction.

Under section 3, ending that ban requires a presidential certification that Russia has reached an agreement, accepted by Ukraine’s free and independent government, to withdraw its forces and cease hostilities; poses no immediate military threat to a NATO member; and recognizes Ukrainians’ right to choose their government. The law also requires advance congressional consultation and a 90-day review period before termination takes effect.

The Administration’s published license does not explain how its authorization of US diesel imports satisfies that separate statute. Although the 2022 law refers to implementation under Executive Order 14066, the relationship between that provision and this broad temporary authorization requires an explanation. The license establishes Treasury’s position; it does not resolve whether the agency can authorize these imports without following Congress’s statutory termination procedure.

For Congress, the immediate issue is whether the Administration has used discretion lawmakers preserved to undermine the policy they enacted – and, separately, what legal authority permits Russian diesel to enter the United States while the 2022 statutory ban remains in place.