A bipartisan group of US Senators have questioned the legality of President Donald Trump's decision to allow diesel imports from Russia, contending that it ran counter to a law banning such trade till Moscow ends the war in Ukraine.
On Friday, after a phone call with Putin, Trump announced that he had struck a deal with Russia to immediately supply 300,000 tons of diesel to the US and the global marketplace.
"Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin's brutal war against Ukraine," US Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal, Ron Wyden (all Democrats), Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, and John Curtis (all Republicans), said in a statement here on Sunday.
"President Trump's decision to allow Russian diesel imports to the US runs directly counter to that law," the Senators said.
Trump's decision to allow imports of Russian oil to the US and global markets came weeks after the US Congress overwhelmingly passed the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, empowering the President to impose sweeping sanctions on Moscow and 100 per cent tariffs on its top five trading partners in oil and gas, including India and China.
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The Senators said the Trump Administration has also failed to consult with Congress or submit any explanation to justify its decision as required by statute.
They said in passing the 2022 law, Congress was clear the US should not import oil from Russia until it ends its aggression against Ukraine and ceases threats against our NATO Allies.
"The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The Administration must immediately reverse course," the Senators said.
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