On Oct. 9, President Trump said Russia would soon supply millions of tons of diesel fuel to American and global markets after a “highly successful discussion” with Vladimir Putin. Shortly afterward, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License No. 135, exempting transactions related to Russian diesel from two sets of Russia-related sanctions imposed by executive order. Lawfare’s Scott Anderson notes that licensing such exemptions is a well-accepted part of presidential authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The bigger problem, according to Lawfare, is a separate statutory ban. Congress passed the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act in 2022, which bars imports of Russian products classified under chapter 27 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, including diesel fuel. That law allows the president to lift the ban only under conditions that have not been met, including a peace agreement accepted by the free and independent government of Ukraine, and it requires advance notice to Congress. The Trump administration has not explained how its general license is consistent with that statute beyond a generic assurance of legal compliance.
The Lawfare analysis argues the deal is unlikely to meaningfully reduce diesel prices, since easing U.S. sanctions does not remove other market constraints. It also warns that the most serious effect could be felt in Ukraine: Putin appears to have persuaded Trump that Ukraine’s strikes on Russia’s diesel industry are pushing up global energy prices and hurting Trump politically. A bipartisan group of senators urged Trump to reverse course, but he has defended the decision. The two sources here are both from Lawfare—a written analysis and a podcast discussion—and the podcast summary offers no distinct claims or points of disagreement with the article’s core legal and strategic concerns.