Treasury carves sanctions licence for Russian diesel after Trump-Putin call
Why it matters: if actual cargoes follow, more diesel supply hitting the global market should take some heat off the price spikes fleets have been wearing since the Russia export squeeze began. Don't bank on it at the bowser yet, nobody's confirmed a single tanker has sailed.
After a phone call with Vladimir Putin on 9 October, Trump posted on Truth Social that Russia would "immediately" release more than 300,000 tons of diesel into US and global markets, with up to 3 million tons more to follow depending on refinery conditions. Hours later, Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control issued General License 135, authorising the sale, delivery, offloading and importation of Russian-origin diesel, good until 7 April 2027. The catch: a 2022 law bans Russian oil imports outright, and legal analysts say a general licence doesn't clearly override that statute. No purchase or shipment has been confirmed yet. US diesel had averaged $6.28 a gallon before the announcement; futures fell more than 4.8 per cent afterward to $4.64 a gallon, though analysts were sceptical it's a lasting fix, calling the volume modest against a genuinely tight market.
Source: US Department of the Treasury, OFAC, General License 135, 9 October 2026, cross-checked against NBC News, CNBC and ABC News.