Trump Admin Temporarily Lifts Sanctions on Russian Oil ‘Stranded at Sea’
Cue the freakout!
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on X that the department has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil, permitting countries to purchase it.
However, the relief only applies to oil on tankers stranded at sea.
“To increase the global reach of existing supply, the Treasury Department is providing a temporary authorization to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea,” wrote Bessent. “This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction.”
Gas prices have gone up since the U.S. launched Operation Epic Fury. But the price of oil continues to fluctuate.
I mean, there’s a reason why energy is considered volatile in CPI reports. The prices change all the time, even within a day.
Don’t forget state taxes!
Anyway, of course, the decision has caused a freakout.
The Democrats on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs demanded that Bessent face a congressional hearing.
“The Trump administration cannot simultaneously claim to be prioritizing U.S. military operations while offering sanctions relief to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” the minority members wrote. “The solution to a war started by President Trump must not be to reward the adversary helping Iran target American troops.”
Canada and Europe won’t ease Russian sanctions, claiming Trump’s move betrays Ukraine and gifts Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
“The unilateral decision by the US to lift sanctions on Russian oil exports is very concerning, as it impacts European security,” said António Costa, President of the European Council. “Any step that would enable Russia to increase its revenues from oil sales would be problematic in view of the larger goals that we have regarding crippling Russia’s war capabilities against Ukraine.”
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The Eurosnobs entirely miss the point that surely the Russians get: Trump is in control.
.
“Just nine months before a full European Union ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) is scheduled to take effect, EU buyers purchased every cargo from Russia’s Yamal LNG project in February, highlighting a stark disconnect between policy intentions and market realities.”
“In February 2026, the European Union imported 1.54 million tonnes of LNG from Russia’s Yamal LNG facility, delivered across 21 cargoes – marking the first time since April 2018 that every shipment was destined for European ports. This follows an already high January purchase, when EU buyers took 93 percent of Yamal’s production.”
https://gcaptain.com/eu-buys-100-of-russian-arctic-lng-just-9-months-before-planned-gas-ban/
Yep. The European Nations have continued buying Russian energy throughout the Ukraine conflict. For that matter so did the USA for several years.
Lets make a deal, all those currently lambasting the temporary provision to allow Russian oil in tankers at sea to be sold can either simultaneously agree to a total economic embargo of any Nation which purchases Russian oil, Nat Gas to include financial transactions and settlements and of course temporary seizure of assets since they’re so opposed to any Russian oil/gas being sold OR they can STFU.
Note Russian* crewed shipping up the Baltic Sea/Gulf of Finland only drag anchor across sub-sea energy cables in the winter just prior to, or during peak energy demand, for Nordic/Finnish nations.
Doing so stymies EU leaders and leads them to write softly worded letters of minor protest.
*also China.
hmmmm
the left eviscerates anyone they deem the enemy ( looking at you wht people) leaving the trail of blood for all to see
and maga spares the lefty of the same
lefty is at war with the us of a
but a war cant be one-sided
unless the other side is just hoping that by ignoring that war
its not really a war
Well, I se where this would allow those tankers to unload and put them back into market.
They wouldn’t be carrying Russian product though, just re-entering the commerce.