Washington has quietly opened a six-month window for Russian diesel, and the legal tool behind it tells the story. Shortly after President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he had reached a fuel arrangement with Vladimir Putin, the Treasury Department said the Office of Foreign Assets Control had been told to issue a temporary general license. It permits Russian diesel to reach the global market, and OFAC set the expiry at April 7.
A general license does not repeal sanctions. It carves out an exemption that would otherwise be forbidden, which is why critics see the step as a reversal in practice even if the rules stay on the books. The volumes Trump described are substantial: over 300,000 tons right away, 500,000 tons in November, then 1 million tons and possibly 3 million more, the latter depending on how Russian refineries are running.
The timing is political. With less than a month to go before midterm elections dominated by the cost of living, Trump promised the deal would quickly ease record diesel prices. Earlier this year his administration had only granted narrow 30-day waivers for sanctioned Russian oil already at sea, meant to calm markets after the Iran war began. This license goes much further.
It also collides with fresh legislation. Just three weeks ago Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which lets him impose tariffs of up to 100% on the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas. Cato Institute economist Scott Lincicome asked mockingly whether America could now tariff itself. Senator Richard Blumenthal called the move contrary to what Congress intended, and Republican Representative Michael McCaul warned that lifting sanctions would finance the Kremlin’s war machine.
Markets got a sceptical verdict too. Wharton professor emeritus Jeremy Siegel told CNBC the agreement was a short-term band-aid rather than a lasting fix, describing it as a deal with the devil.
In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said easing sanctions without a durable de-escalation agreement was an obvious weakness and an investment in prolonging the war. Moscow, by contrast, welcomed the news: an account linked to envoy Kirill Dmitriev said the cooperation would benefit the world. The White House did not immediately answer CNBC’s questions.
