US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday the Trump administration will carry out its diesel supply deal with Russia under existing legal authority, dismissing claims in Congress that sanctions law bars it.
“Anyone in Congress who says that either it’s an old bill or the Lindsey Graham bill that prohibits us from doing it, they’re wrong,” he told Fox news.
He said the deal, announced by President Donald Trump on Friday, is “good for Americans” as it will bring down oil prices.
A Treasury general license means US sanctions will not apply until April 2027 to Russian diesel already loaded onto tankers as of Friday.
Trump signed the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act in September, and it allows tariffs of up to 100 per cent on major buyers of Russian energy. Legal questions also arise from the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act of 2022.
Lawmakers from both parties have criticised the deal, and Republican Brian Fitzpatrick plans a bill to stop the president lifting sanctions on Russian oil unilaterally.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said the sanctions relief encouraged Russia to keep attacking.