The administration of US President Donald Trump is expected to extend a waiver permitting limited purchases of sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products, according to sources.
| Photo Credit:
Dado Ruvic
W.S. President Donald
Trump’s administration is likely to extend as soon as Friday a
waiver allowing countries to buy some sanctioned Russian oil and
petroleum products, two sources familiar with the matter told
Reuters.
The U.S. Treasury Department has allowed purchases of Russian
oil and products at sea since mid-March through the 30-day
waiver that expires on April 11, part of efforts to control
global energy prices during the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Russia’s presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev had said the
original waiver would free 100 million barrels of Russian crude,
equal to almost a day’s worth of global output.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Trump in the
White House on Thursday to talk about extending the waiver, and
they agreed it was a good idea, one of the sources said, asking
not to be named.
Officials at the White House and Treasury Department did not
immediately comment on the matter.
Oil prices have spiked since the start of the war due to
the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about
20% of the world’s oil and gas had been shipped daily before the
conflict.
The 32-nation International Energy Agency has said the war is
creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history.
Fuel prices are a major concern for Trump and his Republican
party leading into midterm elections in November.
The waivers, meanwhile, could complicate the West’s efforts to
deprive Russia of revenue for its war in Ukraine and put
Washington at odds with its allies.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said now
is not the time to relax sanctions against Russia.
CONGRESSIONAL BACKLASH
The U.S. also waived sanctions on Iranian oil at sea on
March 20 for 30 days, in an effort to control prices, spurring
criticism from lawmakers from both political parties.
“Waiving oil sanctions now advantages the countries that
wish to do us harm,” Republican Senator Jerry Moran said last
month, as he urged the administration to not renew the waivers.
“Iran and Russia are actively working together to place
Americans and other innocent lives at risk.”
Democratic lawmakers, including Gregory Meeks, the top
member of his party on the House of Representatives Foreign
Affairs Committee, introduced legislation on Thursday that would
stop the waiver for Russia and prevent its extension. They said
the allowance gives Russian President Vladimir Putin “a free
pass to take advantage of the global rise in energy costs and
fill Russia’s coffers for its illegal war against Ukraine – all
while Russia helped Iran target and kill American service
members in the Middle East.”
India, a U.S. ally that is vulnerable to oil shocks as a
result of the war, has expected Washington to renew the waiver
on Russian oil.
Published on April 11, 2026
