Oil prices ease as Trump waives Russia sanctions for 60 days
The waiver covers sanctions and tariffs under the Graham Act, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio citing the need to analyse economic impacts, while the UK says it takes a 'different view'.
Oil prices fell on Monday after US President Donald Trump waived sanctions and tariffs on Russia, raising the prospect of additional fuel supplies entering the market. Brent crude declined $1.56, or 1.42%, to $108.3, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down $0.25, or 0.25%, at $101.2 a barrel.
The move has drawn sharp criticism from US politicians on both sides of the aisle and from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, while the UK government says it takes a "different view" and will continue increasing sanctions on Moscow.
Trump signed an executive order granting a waiver on key sanctions and tariffs imposed under the Graham Act, according to reports. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Trump would use up to 60 days to evaluate the economic consequences of the waiver. Rubio said the waiver was a 60-day pause to "analyse" their impact on the global economy. "The president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyse what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the US economy," Mr Rubio said.
Rubio noted that various conflicts were impacting global energy prices, including the US war on Iran and attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Houthis. "These conflicts around the world are starting to crash into each other, and they're having an impact not just on global oil and diesel prices" but on economies as well, he said.
The law passed in September included sanctions targeting Russian officials, oligarchs and financial institutions, and gave the president authority to impose sanctions on major buyers of Russian oil and gas. Trump exempted Russia from those economic restrictions late on Friday, two days before the law was due to take effect.
Trump said Russia would initially supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to the United States, followed by shipments in November and beyond. Rubio defended the diesel agreement, saying the diesel would be sold one way or the other and the only difference was how much the United States would get. "That diesel is going to be sold one way or the other," Rubio said. "The only difference is how much of it the United States was going to get." US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said the diesel agreement was "a carrot to try to end the war, not an economic lifeline" to Russia. Wright said the only way Russia could get additional diesel to export was if it turned down the conflict with Ukraine.
Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, that he had not yet announced a final decision. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump wrote that his decision-making was aimed at avoiding anything "that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table."
The UK takes a different view from Donald Trump on Russian sanctions, a Cabinet minister said. Yvette Cooper said the UK would continue increasing pressure on Moscow despite Trump’s decision to halt a package of sanctions due to take effect on Sunday. Cooper declined to directly criticise Trump or say whether she thought he was on Ukraine’s side, saying Britain had to play a crucial diplomatic role in bringing Nato together in support of Kyiv. She said the UK had taken a different view on the need to keep increasing sanctions and would continue with that.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticised the US actions, saying they would hurt Ukraine. Zelensky said he feared the United States would lift more sanctions on Russia and that Trump's action "rewards" Putin.
Brent crude had briefly climbed to $110 a barrel on Friday, its first such level since May, as Middle East tensions heightened concerns about shipping routes and global energy supplies.
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Sources and context
- Oil prices ease as Trump waives Russia sanctions, Middle East risks persistThe Times of India
- Trump paused Russia sanctions to 'analyse' impact - RubioRTÉ
- UK takes ‘different view’ to Trump on Russia sanctions, says ministerEvening Standard
- Rubio says Trump to take up to 60 days to weigh Russia sanctionsThe Straits Times
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.